Coach Mike D'Antoni
Once again the Lakers front office surprised everybody with their coach selection. They offered the job to Phil Jackson, everybody's candidate and the best coach in NBA history, but Jackson asked for a couple of days to make up his mind and it became the perfect excuse for them to go for the coach they really wanted: Mike D'Antoni. The next day they signed D'Antoni to a three-year deal for $12 million. The team holds an option for a fourth year.

D'Antoni was the head coach of the Denver Nuggets for one season and then had his most successful years in Phoenix where he coached Steve Nash and they won at least 50 games for 4 consecutive seasons, advancing to the Western Conference finals in 2005 and '06. After that he went 121-167 in three-plus seasons with the Knicks before resigning on March 14, 2012.

He's obviously a favorite of Nash, who won two Season MVPs running D'Antoni's up-tempo, "seven-seconds-or-less" offense that made the Suns one of the NBA's most entertaining teams, but Kobe Bryant also likes him -- although he made it clear he wanted Jackson back-- and knows him since his days growing up in Italy, when D'Antoni was a player with Olimpia Milano. They also grew a good relationship while spending some time together with Team USA.

The only question that arises with D'Antoni's arrival is: will this be the new Showtime era or will this running offense just worn down Nash, Kobe, Metta and Pau? One thing is sure, it will be entertaining and Kobe will shoot the lights out.

Steve Nash
The Lakers finally got the point guard they were needing via a sign-and-trade deal with the Suns. L.A. sent future draft picks (2013 and 2015 first-round and 2014 and 2015 second-round) and the $8.9-million traded-player exception acquired from Dallas for Lamar Odom.

Nash, a former arch-rival and mostly hated by Lakers fans, is 38 years old, which makes the 3-year $27-millon deal sound a little expensive, but the truth is, he revitalizes the dreams of a championship since he is still an elite passer who can distribute the ball in a way Kobe Bryant never saw so far during his 16-year career.

Nash was a free agent and had offers from Toronto ($36 million, 3 years), New York and Dallas but Kobe recruited him and he decided to come to L.A. for a chance to win his first NBA title and the opportunity to be near his children, who live in Phoenix.

The two-time season MVP, averaged 10.7 assists in 2012 (2nd in the league) and led the NBA in assists in 5 of the last 8 seasons. Although he usually doesn't score much (12.5 ppg in 2012), that's not what the Lakers need with Kobe, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, and he is a clutch player and an excellent shooter in all categories. Nash is 5th all-time in total assists and will surely surpass Magic Johnson for 4th in 2012-13, dressed as a Laker.

Nash won't be able to use the number 13 he has used all his career since it was Wilt Chamberlain's number and has been retired. Instead he will be wearing number 10.

Dwight Howard
After endless comings and goings Dwight Howard will be playing for L.A. in 2012-13. The Lakers acquired the NBA's top center in a four-team, twelve-player trade that involved Orlando, Denver and Philadelphia.

As a part of complex deal the Lakers sent the second-best center available, Andrew Bynum, to the 76ers, Christian Eyenga, Josh McRoberts and their 2017 first round pick to the Magic and received Howard, Chris Duhon and Earl Clark, all from Orlando. And in the process they were able to keep Pau Gasol who was mentioned to be included in this deal.

Howard is a proven superstar, he led the league in blocks twice, in rebounds 4 times --including 2012 season--, in field goal percentage once and was selected 3 times as the Defensive player of the Year, 5 times for the All-NBA 1st Team, 4 for the All-Defensive 1st team and 6 times for the All-Star Game.

He will make $19.4 million in the 2012-13 season, the final year of his current contract and made it clear he is not going to sign an extension, situation the Lakers are not worried about since it makes more sense for him to wait until the season ends and sign a more lucrative contract as a free agent: 5-year and $117.9-million with the Lakers or four years and $87.591 million with any other team.

In 2012 Howard had back surgery to repair a herniated disk, ending his season with the Magic with 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds in 54 regular-season games. In 8 seasons at Orlando, he averaged 18.4 points, 13 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots.

Antawn Jamison
A 6-9 power forward that has been in the NBA for 14 years, Jamison arrived as free agent and will receive the veteran's minimum of $1.4 million for one season. Despite his age (36), with him the Lakers added some scoring to their bench, one of the worst in that category last season. Jamison has career averages of 19.5 points and 7.9 rebounds. Last season with the Cavs he scored 17.2 points in 33.1 minutes per game.

Chris Duhon
Included as part of the Dwight Howard's trade, the 6-1 point guard has averaged 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 26.3 minutes in his 8-year career with the Bulls, Knicks and Magic. He had his best season in 2008-09 when he averaged 11 points and 7 assists and could be a good option other than Steve Blake to rest Steve Nash.

Earl Clark
The 6-10, 225 lbs. forward was also Included in the Dwight Howard's trade. He has averaged 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.2 minutes in his 3-year career. Selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, Clark is a good addition to the bench since he's young and can play minutes at both small and power forward to replace starters World Peace or Gasol.

Jodie Meeks
In the final move to retool their bench the Lakers acquired Jodie Meeks. The 6-4 shooting guard agreed to a two-year $3 million deal. After playing 38.5 minutes per game in 2012, Kobe finally has a true shooting guard to back him up. Meeks is a 37.1 three-point shooter who can defend and started 50 games while averaging 8.4 points in 24.9 minutes for the 76ers last season. He's 25 and the Lakers have an option for the second year of his contract

Andrew Goudelock
The Lakers 2011 draft pick who averaged 4.4 points in 40 games in 2011-12 was waived 3 days before the start of the 2012-13 season to trim the roster to 15 players, but after Kobe Bryant's season ending injury Goudelock was brought back with just two games left in the season.

In the meantime he had started 51 games for Sioux Falls and Rio Grande Valley in the NBA Development League, where he averaged 21.1 points and 5.2 assists a game.

Assistant Coach Eddie Jordan
Jordan, a guard on the Lakers' 1982 championship team and a former head coach with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Washington Wizards came to help Mike Brown implement some aspects of the Princeton offense, which obviously didn't work and was one of the main reasons Brown was fired.

Jordan and the complete coaching staff stayed to assist Mike D'Antoni.

Assistant Coach Bernie Bickerstaff
He arrived with a 39-year coaching career that included being an NBA head coach with four different teams, most recently with the Bobcats in 2006-07.

When the team fired Brown, he was the interim head coach until D'Antoni was hired and a couple of games after that while the new coach recovered from knee surgery. His 4-1 record leaves him with an .800 winning percentage, the best in Lakers history.

Assistant Coach Steve Clifford
Clifford knows Dwight Howard very well since he was an assistant coach at Orlando for the last 5 seasons. He also came with Brown and stayed for D'Antoni

Assistant Coach Dan D'Antoni
He's Mike's older brother and the only assistant that arrived with the Lakers newest coach. Dan has been Mike's assistant since 2005-06 with the Suns.

Coach Mike Brown
Brown was fired 5 games into the 2013 NBA season.

The hiring of Mike Brown was a surprising choice for 2011-12 when everybody (including Kobe) was pointing to Brian Shaw as Phil Jackson's natural successor.

It proved to be a bad decision and the Lakers patience didn't last long. After a 41-25 record in the shortened 2012 season and losing to Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinal playoffs, this was going to be Brown's first full season with an improved roster and a new offensive system. But a worst-ever 0-8 preseason and a 1-4 start in the regular season made Brown the earliest fired coach in Lakers' history. Del Harris was fired 12 games into the 1999 season.

Brown had about $10 million left on his contract, another guaranteed year remaining and a partial guarantee in 2013-14.

Andrew Bynum
Who was supposed to be the player of the future for the Lakers won't even be in L.A. in 2013. He grew to become the second-best center in the NBA but also showed an attitude and a level of immaturity that decided the Lakers to trade him for Dwight Howard. He was sent to Philadelphia were he will surely improve his play as the years go by, but with a core group of players not getting any younger (Kobe, Pau, Nash) the Lakers needed a player who could provide solutions right away and that was without a doubt Dwight Howard.

Originally selected by the Lakers with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Bynum averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 2012, when he also was named to his first All-Star Game and to the All-NBA Second Team. In his 7-year career at L.A. he won two championships.

Ramon Sessions
Acquired in 2012, the young point guard had a $4.6 million player option for the 2012-2013 season included in the contract he signed with the Cavaliers. He didn't take it so he became an unrestricted free agent and the Lakers didn't waste their time and signed Steve Nash to replace him.

Sessions was thought to be a big upgrade to the team on the point guard position but although he was fine in the regular season, he disappeared in the Playoffs.

He signed a 2-year deal worth $10 million dollar with the Bobcats, so he goes from the Lakers to a really bad team and won't make much more money. Opting out was clearly a very bad decision.

Matt Barnes and Troy Murphy
Both unrestricted free agents. The team didn't have interest in bringing them back for 2013.

Assistant Coaches John Kuester, Quin Snyder and Ettore Messina
Kuester was reassigned as an advance NBA scout based on the East Coast while Snyder and Messina left to join CSKA Moscow.

Pau Gasol
The big winner in the Bynum / Howard trade was Pau Gasol whose future with the team was uncertain but gets to stay an be part of a fantastic roster that will compete for another championship. Although he still has 3 years and $60 million left in his contract, a trade is was a possibility. The Lakers had already tried to trade him before the start of 2011-12 but the NBA didn't allow it. Then there were hundreds of trade rumors until the trade dead-line arrived and he remained with the team just because the Lakers didn't find a good deal to do. He was a real gentleman and behave like a professional all the time despite all the disrespect received from a team he changed upside-down the second he arrived from Memphis. After being unable to sort the first round of the Playoffs the 3 seasons previous to Gasol's arrival, they went to the finals the next 3, winning two Championships. He didn't find a place in Mike Brown's system in 2012, and in the exit interviews he was told it was not sure he was going to be back in 2013.

Although it didn't happen rumors said he was included in the Dwight Howard / Andrew Bynum trade.

Devin Ebanks
A restricted free agent, was re-signed for a year in a deal worth a little more than $1 million. He's young (22) and athletic, something this aging team really appreciates. Also, the Lakers like his work ethic.

Jordan Hill
The Lakers acquired Hill when they sent Derek Fisher and a pick to Houston. The 6-10 power forward was an unrestricted free agent but decided to stay by accepting a two-year contract for almost $8 million

Darius Morris
A restricted free agent, Morris accepted the one-year, $962,000 qualifying offer from the Lakers, which means he will be under contract until the end of the 2012-2013 season