Poor Mitch

After they pick a successor for Jackson, the Lakers have a very big decision to make. Is Andrew Bynum their future? The 23-year-old is already one of the top centers in the game, but his balky knees make him a long-term risk for the Lakers ... and any would-be takers in a trade.

Bynum is their only player under 30 with any trade value.

Lakers executive Jeanie Buss, the daughter of team owner Jerry Buss, tried to sound hopeful on a Twitter dispatch after the game. "We will be back," she wrote before referring to her father in the third person. "Dr. Buss knows how to fix things." The Lakers, and Buss, have a reputation of retooling with remarkable quickness, but this would be a serious fix.

The Lakers have eight players over 30 under contract next season, just the beginning of their issues. Bryant, 32, will be back despite showing shades of mortality against Dallas, including consecutive 17-point efforts in the last two games. The remainder of his contract -- three years, $83.5 million -- is too weighty to trade, and it would be an unpopular public-relations move by the team to jettison him.

Another problem for the Lakers: There are other bulky and fully guaranteed contracts on their payroll. Pau Gasol, 30, has three more years and $57 million remaining on a deal that doesn't look as solid after he averaged a meager 13.1 points and 7.8 rebounds in the playoffs. Enigmatic forward Ron Artest, 31, has three more years and $21.5 million remaining. Backup players Steve Blake, 31, and Luke Walton, 31, will cost the team a combined $23.5 million before their contracts expire. Versatile forward Lamar Odom, 31, has two more years at a comparatively affordable total of $17 million, making him possible trade bait.

The Lakers didn't do anything easy this season, enduring a ridiculous loss to Cleveland before the All-Star break and completing a five-game losing streak the week before the playoffs began. Still, nobody would have predicted that three Dallas backups (Jason Terry, Jose Barea and Peja Stojakovic) would outscore them in a playoff game, but it almost happened. The backups had 75 points, 11 fewer than the entire Lakers team.

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I need an abbreviation for Smiling Out Loud.