Traditionally, being a Lakers fan has been very fun. I came of age during the great Lakeshow period of young Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal dominatin' the game and winning hella conference and league championships. Those were the days.

But then the darkness began to creep in. The Lakers won their last league championship in 2010. The death blow was the loss of Pau Gasol, the rock star center who replaced Shaq as Kobe's right-hand man, who left to become a Chicago Bull. Between the loss of Pau, the circus that was Dwight Howard He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, a string of ridiculous D-league players used to form a team so remarkable in its terribleness that even a middle school rec team could take them, and the fantastic fumble that was the Lamarcus Aldridge free agency, to say the Lakers' whole organization is a massive hot mess is the understatement of the century.

This is Nick Young. He is currently on the Los Angeles Lakers' roster as a guard. He is more famous for being engaged to Iggy Azalea and for being a meme than being a Laker. Welcome to the Los Angeles Lakers of 2015.

I say this from a place of love. I've been a Lakers fan since childhood, and the fact that I have stuck by this ratchet ass team for the last four embarrassing years shows my loyalty in spades. They are, for better or (and often) worse, my team, and I would like to take the opportunity here to reach out to my fellow Lakers victims fans and form a quasi-support group meeting via this essay. We can get through this together.

1. Jim Buss

I believe, without a doubt, that the Lakers could be playoff contenders if Jim Buss was not the executive VP of Basketball Operations. To say Jim Buss is bad at his job is deeply offensive to people who are bad at their jobs. He is responsible for the Lakers' loss of the best coach of his generation, maybe even of all-time (he also coached the fabled Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls), Phil Jackson. Jim Buss, for reasons I am not aware of, does not like Phil Jackson. Jackson left the Lakers to retire in 2011. When it was clear that the Lakers were drowning in mediocrity after his departure, Jackson offered to lead the team once again in 2012, but the Lakers' Basketball Operations (who's in charge of that again?) quickly chose Mike D'Antoni as head coach. Mike D'Antoni is not currently the head coach. In the last four years, the Lakers have had three head coaches. Basketball Operations has failed to procure decent coaches or players in the last four years. Honestly, this entire article could begin and end with “Just get rid of Jim Buss and everything will be honky-dory again,” but the organization’s lack of organization has created problems that are more complicated than simply getting rid of the dude.

2. The Lakers Are Living in the Past

Allegedly, one of the big sells that the Lakers’ organization used when trying to pick up free agent Lamarcus Aldridge this summer was talking about what a great legacy the Lakers have (historically, anyway), and how great is to live in Los Angeles. Yes, once upon a time the Lakers were a great team with fantastic coaches, talented players, and a legacy defined by earning the second-most league championships of any team ever, as well as producing countless current and future NBA Hall-of-Famers.Yes, the Lakers are located in Los Angeles, one of the most beautiful, exciting cities in the world, with a temperate climate, gorgeous beaches, and a close proximity to the glamour of Hollywood. Even as late as ten years ago, you could sell potential players, coaches, and behind-the-scenes employees on this image alone. But things have changed.

Nowadays, many players who may belong to a team located in one city choose to live, and even train, in another city. Cleveland Cavaliers superstar forward/center Kevin Love (who resigned with the Cavs this summer for a five-year, $110 mil deal, good G-d) was rumored to be in talks with the Lakers, which he eventually denied. But many people tried to make the argument that Love would sign with the Lakers because the Lakers are located in L.A., where Love was born and went to college, and L.A. in general is, frankly, a much more interesting place to live than Cleveland, Ohio (all love Clevelanders, but you know what’s up). But the thing is, Love already lives in L.A. during the offseason. Because of this nifty thing called technology (example: airplanes), players can live in one city for half of the year and play basketball in another for the next half. And since professional athletes travel so damn much for games, it’s not really important that they actually live in the city of their team.

Lamarcus Aldridge (L) and Kevin Love (R) were courted by the Lakers during the 2015 free agency period.

Lamarcus Aldridge ended up signing with the San Antonio Spurs, a team that actually has a shot at a championship this year, and is all but guaranteed a solid playoff run. Same for Love’s Cavaliers. Most players no longer care about playing in a fancy city, or even playing for a team that has a great historical record. Players want to know that they have a good chance of WINNING on whatever team they decide to play for, and unfortunately, the Lakers just can’t offer that right now. Which brings me to my next point…

3. The Lakers Aren’t Consistent

Last season, the Lakers beat the Warriors and the Spurs at least once each, two teams that are always championship contenders, and I have no idea how they did that (I mean, as a Lakers fan, I fucking loved it, but that’s generally not how this works). They also lost every game they played against the Brooklyn Nets. The Brooklyn Nets are not a good team, even by current Lakers standards. The one thing that kills me as a fan is watching a game in which they dominate, like this, but then turn around and suck raw eggs. I can’t say that there’s a correlation, but ever since Jackson left the coaching post, it seems like the Lakers have been trying to find their identity as a team, to define what “Lakers Basketball” is in 2015. And they’re struggling. But I try to find hope in watching young talent like Jordan Clarkson, and even brand-new Larry Nance, Jr., take control in the paint and lead the team. Maybe with further guidance and more inspired leadership, the Lakers could become a playoff-bound team again. But for now, I will mostly watch my Lakers almost as if they’re a bad soap opera, just waiting for something even more tremendously terrible to happen. But my purple and gold soul is still hoping for a miracle. It’s a new season, and it’s just getting started.