With LeBron James almost surely to return for his 21st NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers are in a good position to be one of the major players in the Western Conference. Between James, Anthony Davis, and a deep cast of supporting talent, the Lakers are of the few teams who managed to improve without shaking up their core.
But how good can the Lakers really be next season? After striking out on all the big names like Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard, can the Lakers stack up compared to teams like the Suns, Warriors, and Nuggets? Only time can give us certainty on that question, but NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith says he fully expects the Purple and Gold to be one of the premier contenders in their conference:
“I’m not going to doubt that [LeBron James] is going to be ready for the season… Keeping [Rui] Hachimura and Austin Reaves, that’s a big deal,” said Smith on First Take. “Acquiring Vincent, elevating your backcourt play. Do they need an additional big body, absolutely. But I think when you look at the fact that they walk into this season with a level of continuity as opposed to looking for it and searching for it by disrupting your team and making wholesale changes mid-way like they did this past season. I think that’s a plus. They accomplished what they accomplished playing 25 games together. [The Lakers] are good enough to get back to the [Conference Finals].”
.@stephenasmith thinks the Lakers' offseason moves will put them back in the Conference Finals 👀 pic.twitter.com/48jsh7QS0I
— First Take (@FirstTake) July 5, 2023
The Lakers didn’t make any big additions via free agency. Instead, they added some smaller names like Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish to help fill out some weak points off the bench.
On paper, this Lakers team may not have the star power of the Suns, but they have arguably the next best thing: depth to put around their two aging stars, which we saw work to great effectiveness just a few months ago when they made the Conference Finals.
But the big question for the Lakers has always been about health, and that will not change with LeBron and AD getting older by the day.
Is The Title Window Still Open For The Lakers?
Only time will tell what the future has in store for the Lakers, but there is no doubt that uncertainty has been a strong theme for the franchise this offseason. When it comes to health and availability, you just never know who will be there week after week.
But if the Lakers can find some stability next season, it could be all they need to make a run and prove all the doubters wrong once and for all.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
