The Los Angeles Lakers have made sweeping roster changes this offseason, but Byron Scott and Olden Polynice don’t see them having much success with the team they have put together. Polynice, who spent 15 seasons in the NBA, was asked on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast whether the Lakers will be contenders three years from today with this new-look roster.
“The most draft picks,” Polynice said. “… With this squad, they’re going to definitely be getting some draft picks.”
Well, the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick is currently with the Memphis Grizzlies, but it is top-four protected. They would have a chance at getting it if they miss the playoffs as Polynice initially suggested they would. The 61-year-old then changed his mind and gave the Lakers a shot at making the play-in tournament.
“I’m calling it right now, they might get in at 10,” Polynice said. “… Yeah, the play-in. They might get in at the 10th spot.”
Co-host Jay Wagers then turned to Scott, who played for and coached the Lakers. He thinks they will make the playoffs, based on what he has seen from Luka Doncic in the past.
“Luka took a team in Dallas to the playoffs that were less talented than this team he’s going to have here,” Scott said. “In the end of the day, when the Lakers are finished with this roster, I think they’ll be just as talented as that team he had in Dallas… I’m saying that he took that team to the championship and to the playoffs with less talent than he will have here.”
Now, Doncic did take far less talented Dallas Mavericks teams to the playoffs early on in his career. The 2023-24 Mavericks, who got to the NBA Finals, were more talented than these Lakers, though. That was probably the perfect team put around Doncic. You cannot say that about the Lakers right now. They might be better offensively, but they’ll be worse defensively.
While Scott believes the Lakers are more talented, he made it clear he doesn’t think Doncic is winning the title with them. Wagers asked him how far they could go, and he doesn’t have them going too far.
“Oh, first round,” Scott said. “… I mean, again, second at the most.”
It should be pointed out that Scott and Polynice made these comments before the Lakers signed Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle. You doubt those signings significantly changed how they view this roster, though.
Now, the Lakers are definitely going to make the playoffs next season, provided Doncic is relatively healthy. The Slovenian has got the likes of Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Collin Sexton around him, and that’s more than enough for him to lead a team to the postseason.
The question is whether the Lakers can take down the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a playoff series. The Spurs and Thunder were the clear-cut best teams in the Western Conference last season, and there is no reason to believe they won’t be just as dominant next season.
Can the Lakers beat these juggernauts? Well, The Ringer’s Zach Lowe gave them next to no chance against the Spurs and Thunder. Unfortunately for the Lakers, that is not an outlandish take.
So, if you can’t really beat the Spurs and Thunder, the Western Conference Semifinals are indeed your ceiling. You’re likely to run into one of those two in the second round, so Scott is on point. The Lakers would be backing themselves to prove him and the rest of their doubters wrong, and it will be interesting to see if they can.
