It's like a tire change in the Indy 500 -- without coming in for a pit stop. It's carefully planning your route, then chucking those plans midway in favor of the road less traveled. It's the NBA midseason trade.

Swapping personnel without benefit of a training camp or giving players and coaches time to adjust is a potential recipe for disaster, risking team chemistry, changing rotations and minutes, and altering playbooks. It happens when most teams have already used up their salary cap space and exceptions, and have moved on to the business of playing out the season. It's an accepted way for a contender to add that last piece, or for a non-contender to get a head start on the offseason. But is it any way to build a contender from a non-contender?

In the last two years the Lakers did exactly that -- retooling from mediocrity to champion -- and they did it almost exclusively through midseason deals. In 2007 for the second consecutive year the Lakers were unceremoniously bounced from the first round of the playoffs. A frustrated Kobe Bryant quipped that his prospects were better playing on Pluto than for the Lakers. The mandate to fix the team fell squarely on the shoulders of GM Mitch Kupchak.

Although he explored potential trades for Bryant, Kupchak was mostly quiet that summer, only replacing the departed Smush Parker with prodigal son Derek Fisher. The Lakers began the 2007-08 season with an uneasy tension hovering over Bryant and the team. Most pundits predicted a repeat of the previous season, with the Lakers winning 40-something games and making a quick exit from the postseason.

A patient Kupchak then made a series of midseason moves that shook the NBA and turned the Lakers into an instant contender. He further tweaked the roster in 2009 -- again midseason -- and today the Lakers are hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy. Compare the team that ended the 2006-07 season to the one getting a parade this week, and you'll notice that most of the significant changes were made with the season already in progress.

In honor of the Lakers' title, Kupchak's vindication, and the moves that got them here, here are the Lakers' all time Top Ten midseason trades:

10. February 2009 -- Vladimir Radmanovic to Charlotte for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown

In an addition by subtraction, Kupchak unloaded a player who by any metric had been a disappointment (referred to as a "space cadet" by Phil Jackson), which cemented Trevor Ariza as the starting small forward. While Morrison didn't contribute to the title run, he constitutes an ending contract that could be a valuable trade chip this summer. More importantly, Brown filled an important role down the stretch, providing athleticism at the point and defense against stronger opposing guards like Chauncey Billups and Deron Williams. Don't be fooled by claims that he was just a throw-in for salary matching purposes -- earlier in the season Brown had torched the Lakers, and Kupchak was well aware of who and what he was getting.

9. November 1974 -- Jim Price to Milwaukee for Lucius Allen

Near the start of the 1974-75 season GM Pete Newell acquired "jackrabbit" Allen, who averaged nearly 20 points per game that year and played with the team through the 1976-77 season. This was far from a one-sided trade, as Price would go on to make the All-Star team that season with the Bucks.

8. February 1993 -- Sam Perkins to Seattle for Benoit Benjamin and the draft rights to Doug Christie

Routinely panned, this trade actually makes a lot of sense in retrospect. Perkins was in the way of Elden Campbell, who at the time was an up-and-coming power forward. With this trade GM Jerry West cleared the logjam, also bringing in a promising rookie who had not come to terms with the Sonics. West later flipped Benjamin for Sam Bowie, who made solid contributions for two seasons as the team's backup center.

7. March 1999 -- Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell to Charlotte for Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong

At this point in their careers Campbell was relegated to backup center and Jones was about to become a free agent and command a hefty salary increase. Jones and Bryant were competing for minutes at shooting guard, with neither being muscular enough to assume the small forward role. In Glen Rice West obtained the natural small forward and outside shooter he had coveted, clearing the way for Bryant as the full-time shooting guard. Rice became one of the keys to the 2000 title run.

6. December 1981 -- Second round pick in 1983 and cash to New Jersey for Bob McAdoo

In exchange for a low draft pick, GM Bill Sharman obtained a prolific scorer who served as a veteran sixth man for four seasons.

5. November 2007 -- Brian Cook and Maurice Evans to Orlando for Trevor Ariza

In a deal that also set up the 2009 Radmanovic trade, Kupchak exchanged two iffy Lakers for an unheralded player who blossomed into a key contributor to the 2009 title. While Ariza came up big against his former team, Evans and Cook watched the Finals from home, both having since departed the Magic.

4. February 1987 -- Frank Brickowski, Peter Gudmundson, 1987 first round pick, 1990 second round pick and cash to San Antonio for Mychal Thompson

West acquired Thompson on the eve of a showdown game against the Celtics, hoping he could learn a play or two out of the the playbook and play a few minutes against their bitter rivals. Instead he learned the entire playbook and made a big contribution in that game. Thompson was the right player at the right time for the Lakers, who never looked back, winning the title that year against those same Celtics.

3. January 1997 -- Cedric Ceballos and Rumeal Robinson to Phoenix for Robert Horry and Joe Kleine

The Lakers were a different team after Shaq's arrival, and Ceballos' "garbageman" offense wasn't compatible with the team's new direction (neither was an ill-advised waterskiing foray). Horry experienced similar mixed results in Phoenix, capped by the infamous towel in coach Danny Ainge's face -- which at once alienated him from the Suns and made him a Laker fan favorite even before he arrived in LA.

Kleine was a throwaway, flipped for George McCloud a month later. But "Big Shot Rob's" exploits have gone down in Laker history, primarily as a big part of the 2000-02 titles.

2. February 1980 -- Don Ford and the Lakers' 1980 first round pick to Cleveland for Butch Lee and the Cavs' 1982 first round pick

The true impact of this Sharman trade would not be felt for two years. With the 1980 pick the Cavs selected Chad Kinch. With the 1982 pick the Lakers selected James Worthy.

1. February 2008 -- Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, draft rights to Marc Gasol, the Lakers' first round picks in 2008 & 2010 and cash to Memphis for Pau Gasol and the Grizzlies' 2010 second round pick

This trade earns the top spot for its context and originality as much as for its impact. The Lakers were stuck in mediocrity, unable to get past the first round of the playoffs and leaving Kobe Bryant pining for Pluto. Frustrated fans were ready to storm the Laker castle with torches and pitchforks.

Kupchak responded by pulling off the greatest midseason trade in Laker history, and perhaps league history, sending a player widely regarded as a bust, two raw prospects, a guy who was out of the league and coaching in Philadelphia, and a couple low picks in exchange for a perennial all-star big man who was a perfect complement to Bryant and the Lakers' system. The Lakers instantly vaulted from also-ran to powerhouse, making the Finals in 2008 and winning it all in 2009.