Los Angeles Lakers season preview: Lineup, roster and prediction

After getting swept in the second round of last year's playoffs and losing LeBron James to free agency, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka was emboldened by Mark Walter's heavy investment in building out the front office to overhaul the roster around Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves .

The first swing was the biggest one: trading for Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for two first-round draft picks and two unprotected first-round pick swaps and immediately signing him to a four-year, $129.47 million contract. It may have cost everything, to quote Thanos, but the Lakers secured the best available center this offseason to pair with Dončić for the long-term.

Pelinka used almost all of the cap space created by James' departure on depth, adding Sandro Mamukelashvili , Collin Sexton , Quentin Grimes , Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams . All solid signings, but there are still questions on what this Lakers team's ceiling truly is, especially in a stacked Western Conference in which they'll have to go through the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs .