Lakers News: NBA Circles Have "Pessimism" For LA's Chances This Season

Matt Levine | Jul 17, 2024

The Los Angeles Lakers have spent this offseason trying to add talent to their roster but so far, nothing has come to fruition. The team still has stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the roster, giving them a fighting chance each time on the court.

However, the supporting cast has shown itself to be streaky and unreliable at times when it matters most. While there is still a long way to go before the start of the new season, the Lakers aren't getting much love around the league for the roster that they have.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, many around the NBA view the Lakers similarly to last season. Many aren't scared of them despite the star duo still on the roster.

"What’s clear from Las Vegas, however, is that many in NBA circles believe the Lakers must upgrade their roster to have a chance at a deep playoff run. In polling more than a dozen front-office executives, coaches, scouts and agents attending the NBA Summer League, most pegged the Lakers as a likely Play-In team, with seeds ranging from fifth to 10th in the West. None view the team’s current version as capable of winning a championship. Several noted a lack of two-way wings and the hole at backup center behind Davis as reasons for pessimism."

With the way that the team is currently constructed, the Lakers are at best a low playoff team. If things were to break correctly for them, they could sneak into the top-6 but that would require a lot to go right.

Last season, the Lakers saw relatively healthy years from James and Davis but still wound out being a play-in team. There are other issues that could directly show why that was but the team failed to maximize themselves.

Under new head coach JJ Redick, the Lakers may be better but there is still a lot of work to do. Los Angeles has to find a way to upgrade the roster over the rest of the offseason, otherwise, they run the risk of a similar fate next season.

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