You're missing a point IMHO.
Lakers at the beginning of the season played with some s***y lineups with DeAndre as a starter, lack of shooting and spacing, and basically everyone was aware how stupid was this idea of coaching staff to play in this specific way.
After some time, thanks to injuries and other absences, Lakers have figured out that they need space and more movement-based offense, and this is why LeBron at 5 has been a great, even if temporary solution. Not only he gets more space for himself, but also role players can thrive in this system (great shooting form of role players, especially Monk and Bradley). That is why Lakers finally have some style and offensive flow, and even though from some general perspective their success is moderate (they're still 21-19 after all), it's easily visible to see a development here.
Vogel said recently that with AD back they'll play with him at C, LeBron in secondary lineups, and in some cases probably with Dwight against dangerous centers, and that's some development considering that he thought in October/November that Lakers can succeed with Westbrook, LeBron, Davis and Jordan on a court simultaneously.
So while LeBron at 5 isn't a solution for all Lakers' weaknesses, it's clearly a move into right direction in terms of style of play/type of rotation that Lakers want to have.
Obviously, they still have lot of question marks with general rotation, on ball defenders on perimeter, Westbrook or shape of Davis, and perhaps they won't contend for a title. But there's a small light at the end of a tunnel right now, because at least Lakers know what type of bball they want to play, and it's certainly related to LeBron being willing to play as a center.
