The Los Angeles Lakers' hopes of making the NBA post-season suffered a huge blow on Tuesday with the news that LeBron James' foot injury will keep him off the court for more than two weeks.
But the franchise has been told missing the play-offs would not be a bad thing for their future, providing clarity that the axis of James and Anthony Davis needs to end.
The superstar duo have played at an elite level this year, but they have both been hampered by injuries, with 38-year-old James' latest issue terribly timed with just 22 games remaining in the regular season sitting 12th in the West, three games back from the play-off mix.
But pundit Colin Cowherd believes this is the confirmation the Lakers need to move in a different direction and rebuild a top-heavy roster relying on an ageing great and an injury-prone sidekick, saying either James or Davis should be traded this summer.
"This injury provides more clarity for the 39th time, you have got to move off LeBron and Anthony Davis, the duo," he said on The Herd. "You probably keep LeBron and move off AD.
"If they miss the play-offs, it's not a terrible thing. It would create an ice bath, a shocking, alarming reality. The franchise needs it. You can look into your past, don't stare at it. The Lakers do a lot of staring at the banners and their past and at their very best, they were connected to Hollywood, fun and flashy and Magic (Johnson) and titles and glitzy blockbusters.
"They are very much still connected to Hollywood – knock-offs, reboots and nobody watches the Oscars. LeBron/AD: The Original was good, it filled the theatres.
"We're not rooting for more injuries, what we're rooting for in Los Angeles and what everybody should be rooting for is clarity. This is not a franchise that figures out the simple stuff. They look in the past, they romanticise and they count banners.
"This demonstrates LeBron/AD, this blueprint is over. It doesn't work, it's too old. They are talented when they play together, they just don't very often."
The Lakers head to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday evening before big games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves later in the week, and the pressure will be heaped on Davis to get the job done without James, and D'Angelo Russell is also doubtful to play due to injury.
