The Lakers are back in action, after a long (by NBA standards) stretch between games, facing the Timberwolves tonight in Minnesota. 

And while Austin Reaves (questionable) might be on the floor, LeBron James didn't even make the trip. He's out for tonight, and may not play on Sunday at home against Memphis, thanks to an injured foot. (No announcements have been made in that regard.) Were James to miss Sunday's game, he'd get about two weeks off, while only costing him and the Lakers three games (including the one James missed last weekend against Portland), because after Memphis the Lakers don't play again until next Thursday.

That's an almost unheard of amount of rest. 

Hopefully, whether LeBron sits for that whole stretch or even plays Sunday, that gets his body back where it needs to be. And, for that matter, his mind. Because in year 22, everything that makes it hard physically to play at the level he's accustomed to is arguably even harder mentally. 

How JJ Redick juggles the lineup without James available becomes interesting, especially if Reaves can't play. How can he balance the offense and the defense? Can he find anough ballhandling against a quality Minnesota team? 

Meanwhile, an interesting feature from The Athletic, surveying front office people about the best front offices in the league. Not surprisingly, Oklahoma City led by Sam Presti are at the top of the list (followed by Boston and Brad Stevens). The Lakers... didn't get a single vote. Setting aside questions about what Rob Pelinka and Co. deserve, or whether he's punished for being relatively unpopular among his peers, or even if nobody ever likes voting for stuff that gives the Lakers credit for anything. Or even that none of those things change the fact that the Lakers don't belong high up on a list like this one. A striking aspect of this feature was noting all the smart people working in the OKC front office with Presti. It is not a one-man shop. Or even a two- or three-man shop. And this is a small market group that doesn't, or at least shouldn't, have the same resources as the Lakers. The purple and gold, however, run with a very lean operation in basketball ops. 

Is it because the Lakers lack vision? Because they do. Because they're too insular? Because they are. Because the people they do have are not inclined in the slightest to expand the operation, especially if it means hiring people who could potentially replace you? Very likely. Because they're too cheap? Whether in this space or others, that's long been a criticism. 

Los Angeles has two crown jewel franchises in the Lakers and the Dodgers. But one thing that sets the Dodgers apart is their willingness to hire every smart person they can find to do stuff around the organization. In the front office, in scouting, in training and beyond. Ownership has an ethic of more-is-more, and the person at the head of it (Andrew Friedman) does not operate in fear of failure, where his replacement has an office down the hall. 

The Lakers can't circumvent the salary cap, but they can spend unlimited amounts of money on human capital. But they don't, and at some point that has to change. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: No LeBron in Minnesota. 

SEGMENT 2: Who does Redick start? 

SEGMENT 3: A major failure in the Lakers organization. 

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