Jul 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D
Los Angeles Lakers
Question: Do the Lakers’ offseason additions give them a legitimate shot at the playoffs?
The Lakers, along with the Knicks, were the running joke of free agency since their big market advantage has seemingly dissipated; Never was this more evident than after they were dismissed by LaMarcus Aldridge for their pitch, which had little to do with basketball and a lot to do with non basketball enterprises.
Lake Show Life
However, they drafted a player in DeAngelo Russell, who projects to be a future star, bring back Kobe Bryant and Julius Randle from injury, and acquired Brandon Bass, Lou Williams and Roy Hibbert through free agency and trades. The three players acquired each either match or are upgrades to the players they’re replacing in the lineup (Ed Davis, Jeremy Lin, Jordan Hill, respectively).
Also, last year’s rookie Jordan Clarkson was impressive last season and had plenty of reps due to injuries, so his confidence and momentum should carry over to this season. So, the Lakers quietly made some nice moves–which weren’t quite the historically Laker-esque moves we’ve come to expect–that could position them as a solid mid-tier team. The question is do they want to use another year to rebuild or be competitive immediately?
Whether it’s smart or not, I’m putting my money on the latter.
Next: Los Angeles Clippers