Los Angeles Lakers
Record Projection: 27-55
I actually love where the Los Angeles Lakers are going with their roster construction. They’re definitely on the right track. Now, after hiring Luke Walton, the Lakers can actually begin building and developing.
The foundation is there, led by D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram. Now the hard part begins. They need to prove that these are the guys that are going to bring the Lakers back to prominence.
It’s easy to coach the best team the NBA has ever seen, which is exactly what Walton did when Steve Kerr was sidelined with an injury. It’s an entirely different thing to coach a team that is young, raw and really had no direction.
The Lakers will win more games than they did last season, but there’s still plenty of growing pains up ahead for this team.