• Magic Johnson has shared his expectations from the new-look Lakers this season
• Johnson expects the Lakers to be the best team in the West
• The Lakers revamped the supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis this summer
The Los Angeles Lakers worked very hard in reshaping their roster this summer, washing away the sins of the year-and-a-half of Russell Westbrook on the roster. Magic Johnson is really excited and is coming into next season with the expectations that no team in the West will be better than his Lakers.
“I think they’re going to be the best team in the West this year.”
With the Westbrook era in the rearview, the Lakers can finally stick to what they know works which is depth around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The team was a contender before they had Russ and returned to contention after getting rid of Russ, but being a sub-.500 when they had the former MVP.
The Lakers are going into training camp with a roster that not only features the two superstars up top but breakout talent Austin Reaves as well. With the re-singings of Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura along with the players they have acquired, the Lakers should aim to bring home a title this season, given LeBron is a free agent at the end of this season.
Rob Pelinka Has Done A Sensational Job
The credit for the Lakers roster right now goes to Rob Pelinka. Magic Johnson once left the Lakers due to his dislike of having to manage the team alongside Pelinka, but it seems even Magic will be rooting for the Lakers’ GM’s audacious moves to pay off with success on the court. Former Lakers coach Byron Scott thinks Pelinka locked up Executive of the Year already.
“I love what they did in the offseason. You gotta give Rob Pelinka a lot of credit. I think right now he’s the Executive of the Year for what he was able to bring to the table… The biggest surprise to me was getting Gabe Vincent away from Miami. I thought that he was going to stay in Miami because the guy proved that he could play this game.”
The Lakers have added youngsters Jalen-Hood Schifino and Maxwell Lewis from the 2023 NBA Draft. Their best work was done while signing players on the lower end of the market. This includes signing Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Christian Wood, and Jaxson Hayes among others.
Have The Lakers Done Enough To Be The Best In The West?
Given the versatility and balance on this roster, it’s no surprise people like Magic believe the Lakers will be a top contender this season. It’ll be a disappointing season if the Lakers are anything but a top-three seed in the West alongside the Nuggets and Suns. Injuries will play a big factor, but the team has multiple options in every position to mitigate the drawbacks of having injury-prone stars on the team.
I would take the Lakers’ depth over the Phoenix Suns given their roster is far more top-heavy. The Lakers have two max contract players and the rest of the money is spread out across the roster. The Suns have four max players and went minimum hunting to fill out their roster.
The Nuggets have a proven system to win but will be reeling with the loss of Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. While Christian Braun and Peyton Watson could get rotational minutes and far outdo the production the Nuggets got from Brown and Green, I think it’ll be a little inconsistent based on their age. Still, the Nuggets are the team to beat in the West but the Lakers aren’t far away.
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