The Los Angeles Lakers have completely remade their roster this offseason. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will still be leading the way, but the supporting cast surrounding them is totally different from last year’s squad with Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili, amongst the many additions.
The question now is whether this is a team that can compete with the best the league has to offer. Most expect the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs to be the top teams in the West, but it is wide open after that. ESPN recently released their summer forecast and they projected the Lakers to finish sixth in the West with 45 wins:
The Lakers were a play-in team three times with LeBron James, and now that he is gone, it will be Luka Doncic’s challenge to lead L.A. to a top-six spot. The Lakers are coming off back-to-back 50-win seasons with coach JJ Redick but will field a drastically different lineup beyond the obvious change with James’ departure. Gone too are major contributors Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton and Luke Kennard, with Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton headlining the roster turnover.
Aside from the Spurs and Thunder, ESPN believes the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves will all finish ahead of the Lakers and win at least 50 games. So they clearly feel L.A. is a step below that next tier of squads. The Lakers have won at least 50 games in each of the last two seasons under head coach JJ Redick and there is no doubt they want to make it three straight.
There are obviously many questions surrounding the Lakers going into the season, but the same can be said for the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Rockets as well. Denver lost important contributor Peyton Watson this summer, the Timberwolves brought in LaMelo Ball, but also gave away much of their frontcourt depth, and the Rockets will continue to have offensive questions even with the return of Fred VanVleet.
The West will be a battle and teams like the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors will be looking to climb the standings and avoid the Play-In Tournament as well, so the Lakers will have to come together and perform at a high level in order to stay in the top-6.
Lakers still in the lead for free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga
The Lakers are still looking to make additions to the roster and one name they’ve been linked to all summer is forward Jonathan Kuminga. A decision from Kuminga is expected to come soon and the Lakers are believed to be the favorite to land him.
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