On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were officially put out of their misery after six very frustrating and disappointing months when a loss to the Phoenix Suns eliminated any chance they had of reaching the play-in tournament.
Now, the attention has to turn to next season and how the Lakers can clean up the mess they made.
The first step they have to take is to protect their investment in their two superstars.
In order to do that, they need to keep LeBron James and Anthony Davis out of these final three games, no matter how badly they may want to keep playing.