With no blockbuster trades and few spicy rumors sizzling this summer, the Lakers have been quiet and dull for most of the offseason. This would be fine if they were a team projected to be title contenders, but right now, most see the Lakers as a good but not elite squad entering the 2024-25 NBA season.

That’s fine with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, who is focused on the franchise’s on-court performance rather than quieting the critics. Earlier this summer, Buss discussed the state of the organization with Chuck Schilken of the LA Times heading into the new year.

“Really, you gotta play basketball and win games. I know the criticism out there. I know social media is rough waters for everybody. There’s always controversy being stirred up on social media. That’s why it doesn’t really serve me to hype everything up. It’s just, you gotta do the work. And that’s how our organization operates. We do the work. We worry about what we can control and let the work speak for itself.”

While it’s fair to be skeptical that bringing back a 47-win team will lead to more success, Jeanie is right: the work will do the talking.

As much as things are the same, a lot has changed in Los Angeles.

JJ Redick is now the coach, Austin Reaves could have his usage increased, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis proved this summer at the Olympics that they are still pretty good at basketball.

So, the hope is that with these adjustments and the anchors being LeBron and AD, the Lakers can emulate last season’s Dallas Mavericks, who made it to the NBA Finals as a 50-win team relying heavily on the production of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving.

With training camp fast approaching, these conversations will soon go from conceptual to concrete.

If Buss and the Lakers have built up a winner, then the jeers will turn to cheers, and we’ll look back and laugh at the overreactions from the inactivity from this summer.

On the other hand, if Los Angeles is, yet again, swimming in the pool of mediocrity, then the noise will only get louder and the Redick era will begin very rocky.

Either way, one thing is for certain: covering these Lakers in Los Angeles won’t be boring.