The Lakers addressed some issues, left others, cut costs this offseason

The Lakers always indicated they mostly wanted to run it back with a couple tweaks. They did just that, but it's worth pointing out what it all might mean.

It’s incredibly rare for an NBA executive to tell everyone in clear terms what their intention is for an upcoming offseason. It’s even rarer to see that executive actually turn around and do just that. Rob Pelinka has gotten pretty good at GM speak but in this case, when he told us what was going to happen, he apparently meant every word.

The Lakers will head into next season with a pretty good roster. They’ve made some tweaks here and there, but for the most part, didn’t do anything that seriously changes their title chances.

If you want to be an optimist, the Lakers kept together a core that was one of the better teams in the league while it was together last year and reached the Western Conference Finals.

If you want to be a pessimist, the Lakers didn’t tangibly improve a team that was swept out of those Western Conference Finals.

Maybe those improvements will come in the form of LeBron James and Anthony Davis being healthier than the last time we saw them. Maybe Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura will not just replicate their solid postseason play, but build on it and take meaningful steps forward. Maybe Gabe Vincent is actually the player who played a vital role in Miami’s run to the finals. Maybe…

If not, the Lakers are a middle of the road team in the loaded west and, here’s where it gets kind of scary, are pretty limited in terms of what they can to do improve midseason.

The Good…