The Lakers fell in five to the Pistons, an upset that few would have imagined. It didn’t fit the story. It didn’t make sense with everything else going on. This couldn’t be the end. This couldn’t be the finale. Karl Malone still didn’t have a ring. Phil Jackson had lost in the finals. Lakers lose. Lakers lose?

This couldn’t be the final chapter. That can’t be the back of the book. There has to be redemption. This chapter in Lakers history cannot be laid to rest like this.

And so … what if?

Following the loss, Lakers coach Phil Jackson is unsure of how to address his team; he is unsure if he’d ever be able to go on. Shaquille O’Neal didn’t want to play with Kobe Bryant. Kobe wanted to be a star. Shaq wanted more — more respect, more prestige and more admiration. Karl Malone still wanted a ring. Gary Payton wished he could have acted better, played better, been better.

To keep Jackson, owner Jerry Buss bestows upon him the general manager duties. It’s something Jackson has always desired. He has watched San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich handle the rigors of being both a coach and a GM and knows that he too could handle the dual tasks. His first action is to decide which players do and do not fit within his system. Immediately his decision is made to not pick up Gary Payton’s option, a mutual agreement on both sides. Rick Fox is pressured into retirement, and Jackson keeps Karl, and Karl stays because he believes in Jackson. Shaq is a given. With Phil on board, he is happy and secure in his position within the team, and likes the looks of players such as Malone, Derek Fisher and Luke Walton — men who will stand beside him, allow him to be the general. He is too stubborn to admit that this team is incomplete, that there are holes and that there needs to be more. And then, there is Kobe.

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns offer Bryant huge sums of money. Phoenix dreams of an Amare-Kobe connection and sees the possibilities as limitless, especially with young Leandro Barbosa maturing into his position as the point guard. The Clippers also enjoy the thought of a marquee player, but they are holding back a little. No matter how hard they seem to be pushing, owner Donald Sterling doesn’t really want Kobe. Kobe, however, is mentally weakened. He has always been insecure, and it becomes increasingly obvious to him that he would never be able to leave the Los Angeles Lakers at this point, after all their support. Bryant signs.

Shaq is now put at a crossroads. Jackson says nothing to him before Shaq and Kobe are to come face-to-face. He knows that Shaq will need to choose his course alone, and if he chooses the most beneficial course to the team, they will go far.

The Lakers focus on personality, position and need. Center Michael Doleac is a good pickup and former Indiana Pacers point guard Anthony Johnson seems like a step down from Payton. Jon Barry is a late signing, but possibly the most important.

And it goes … beautifully. Shaq realizes this is his chance to change things and wants to be the one to do that. Kobe also realizes that there is a better course of action … for him. Both will never be best friends, but they decide to be friends. Jackson smiles as he sees it all coming together. On draft day, Jackson is able to trade up for the Hornets’ first-round pick at 18. With the pick, Jackson selects NCAA Player of the Year Jameer Nelson, a high-quality, smart player similar to Jason Kidd.

Jackson assembles a team of winners. As the GM, he looks over his own coaching style and is able to modify the triangle.

The team is special. They are strong out of the gate, playing smart and working well with one another. Nelson, Fisher and Johnson work perfectly together distributing the ball, and Jackson is able to get optimal defensive intensity out of each. Shaq is a monster on the boards, but begins to defer to Kobe when need be, and Kobe in turn becomes optimistic and upbeat. Malone helps by soothing the egos of Shaq and Kobe, and at the same time amalgamates the new guys into the team atmosphere. The Lakers lock up the number-one seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

The Lakers storm through the playoffs, losing only twice. This team resembles the 2001 squad that suffered its only loss to the Sixers in game one of the Finals.

The Lakers get their rematch: Detroit-Los Angeles. They are prepared this time. Detroit is not. The Lakers sweep the series. Shaq is again the MVP, and Kobe realizes that Shaq is on the way out and it is best to play the supporting role until he is ready to take over the ship. The team is jubilant, ecstatic, encompassed by emotions this group had never experienced before. They are revived. They get their revenge. They get their redemption.

And then the book is allowed to end, in the only way it could have been.

If only …