Pretend you're an NBA free agent, and you want to find a home. There are lots of teams who could use your services, and the market for what you'll be paid is pretty much set. Hmm, let's see, the Mavs, Miami, Portland, the Lakers -- wait, the Los Angeles Lakers! You mean, I can sign there to play with Shaq and Kobe, have no pressure on me to perform, and be a good bet to win the NBA title? Where do I sign up?

	So, Kobe, how many more of these would you like before moving on?

So as we continue our 2001 Summer Spotlight Series, here's the deal with the world champion Lakers.

The good: The center is the most dominating player in the game, bar none. A lot of other players have major game, including one of his teammates, but when Shaquille O'Neal plays hard, he's unstoppable. The league's defensive player of the year found that out again and again in June. Shaq's a monster.

On a different team, Kobe Bryant might be carving out a name for himself on par with Michael Jordan. Heck, he is doing that, really, but imagine how many points a game Kobe would score if there wasn't another 30-ppg guy blocking the paint? Could he score 35? What about 40? We're not putting limits on him.

The dynamic duo has already earned a pair of titles and there's no telling how many more are coming. We saw proof this season, as the griping reached the point that there was actually trade talk. Even high school coaches were criticized in this mess. But Phil Jackson let it all play out, and after the Knicks held L.A. to 13 fourth-quarter points in a 79-78 win over the champs on April 1st, the rest of the league looked like fools. The Lakers won their final eight regular season games and rolled through the playoffs with one overtime defeat. That's it.

But now for the scary part: ShaqKobe (or KobeShaq, if you prefer, and some probably do) hasn't left yet. They're still here. And the supporting cast isn't any worse, that's for sure. Robert Horry and Derek Fisher haven't left. Horace Grant, Greg Foster and Tyronn Lue served their purpose, now they're gone. Lindsey Hunter, Mitch Richmond and Samaki Walker should be more than adequate. Hunter, for example, is a big-time 3-point threat, and the new rules favor that for when five guys pile on Shaq. And he plays defense, too. Walker has young legs and can't be much worse than Grant was. And Richmond just wants to win. He could still score 18 a night on say, the Grizzlies. Here he figures he gets a ring. Sounds smart to us.

	THE FACTS
	2000-01 record: 56-26, 1st in Pacific, 2nd in West Playoffs: Won NBA title Team leaders: O'Neal, 28.7 ppg; 12.7 rpg; Bryant 5 apg Team stats (NBA rank): Points, 100.6 (3rd); Rebs, 44.7 (5th); FG %, .465 (3rd) Current rotation: O'Neal C; Walker PF; Horry SF; Bryant SG; Hunter/Fisher PG; Richmond 6th man Spot in Summer Power Rankings: No. 1

The bad: OK, they lost once in three months. How much bad could there be? (By the way, we'll deal with JR in the "ugly" section.) But when this team was losing, there were some bad things going on. For one, the two stars must work in concert, which is to say that when one of them scores 45, the other needs to fill the stat line with other numbers. This happened in the playoffs. Basically, Mr. Bryant has to let the big dog eat, but he can also get his 30 a night in the process. For how many more years can this occur?

Laker detractors love to point out that there is no quality third scorer. Well, there wasn't -- until Derek Fisher got healthy. He was much better than we remember from the year before in May and June. But, alas, he's out again with more foot problems. While an erratic Glen Rice and horrible Isaiah Rider each won rings, Richmond could hit a few threes in his sleep and average 12 a night here. Getting him was a very smart move, and should quiet those who desire a third scorer.

Other than that, there's nothing bad. Complacency? You think Phil got tired of winning every year in Chicago? He saw what it was like losing when MJ was whiffing curveballs. There will be no complacency here.

The ugly: The theory is that if a guy could score everywhere he's been, he could also score in Lakerland. But Rider couldn't. He's selfish, which is a problem, and trouble off the court as well. Shaq and Kobe have outside interests, and didn't want to deal with JR like Michael did with Dennis Rodman. Thus, JR averaged only 7 points a night and shot .426. The Lakers can get Mike Penberthy to do that, and he's a nice guy. So why bother with Rider, who was punished by having to wear a suit the entire playoffs.

The future: We're not going to award the 2001-02 NBA title to the Lakers right now, but after seeing what this team did this spring, and who they got this summer, it's not going to be easy to knock them off. The coach is a master, they have arguably the two best players in the league, and their supporting cast is better than either of the previous two seasons. What more do you want?

But how many titles can the Lakers win before internal strife and the lure of Hall of Fame numbers pull Kobe away? Or makes Shaq retire? Shaq has money, has his titles, and has a blooming rap career, we're told. Kobe wants to be the best ever. He wants to score 35 every night, and he wants to be the only guy. Get me a Scottie sidekick, he's thinking. Sharing the spotlight stinks. Maybe he's right. Check with us in June 2001, but we'd bet the Lakers will be back in the Finals for years to come.

So we asked you this question about the Lakers: How many titles will this Laker group end up winning?

Check out the file to the right for selected responses.

Eric Karabell is ESPN.com's NBA editor.