Jeff Teague isn’t sold on the Lakers. On the ‘Club 520’ podcast, the former All-Star guard said that while LeBron James and Luka Doncic are good enough to keep Los Angeles among the top teams in the West, he still doesn’t believe in the roster overall.
“I don’t like that team,” Teague said. “I think they’re gonna be good ’cause they just got Luka and LeBron. I think that they’re good enough to always be in the top five with them two, but I don’t like that team. I would never pick them.”
On paper, the Lakers are one of the best teams in the West. Besides four-time champion LeBron James, they have Luka Doncic coming off a transformative summer. That’s not to mention Austin Reaves, who will play a major role in JJ Redick’s rotation. In the frontcourt, the Lakers can lean on Deandre Ayton to defend the rim and capitalize on every opportunity with Luka on the floor.
After finishing third last season, and making several key additions (like Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia), expectations have only risen for the Lakers as they approach a pivotal campaign. Not only is it Luka’s first full season with the organization, but it could also be LeBron’s last as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Amid the pressure, head coach JJ Redick is doing his best to stabilize the locker room and maintain some semblance of consistency for a team always under the spotlight. After recently signing an extension with the Lakers, he’s set to experience a long-term coaching tenure that is already off to an impressive start.
Still, for Teague, he doesn’t have the Lakers as a serious title threat. With LeBron and Luka, they may win a lot of regular-season games but critics like Teague are still hesitant to claim they can challenge teams like the Thunder, Nuggets, or Timberwolves in the playoffs.
Without Anthony Davis, the Lakers don’t have a true reliable star on defense and it makes them vulnerable in the frontcourt against the bigger, more physical teams. There’s also the matter of LeBron”s advanced age, which makes him a walking injury risk every time he steps foot on the court.
Teague doesn’t trust that the Lakers can stay whole and healthy long enough to truly contend for the championship. What’s more is that he still sees the Lakers as underdogs compared to other, more favorable competitors in the West. The truth is, until the Lakers prove otherwise, you can’t say Teague is wrong.
We’ve seen this type of confidence before from the Lakers and it doesn’t always come with expected results. This year, however, they are hoping that the development of Luka Doncic will take them to another level of contention and finally validate their efforts to bring another title to Los Angeles.
At the end of the day, Teague can doubt the Lakers all he wants, but it won’t matter until the games are played. If LeBron holds up, if Luka continues to rise, and if guys like Reaves and Ayton step up, Los Angeles has everything it needs to silence the critics. Until then, the questions will keep coming, and it’ll be up to the Lakers to prove whether this roster is for real or just another hype job.
