3. Los Angeles Lakers
Key additions: LeBron James (FA), Rajon Rondo (FA), Javale McGee (FA), Lance Stephenson (FA)
Key losses: Julius Randle (FA), Isaiah Thomas (FA), Brook Lopez (FA)
AS FOR THE LAKERS, they made the biggest splash in free agency when they signed superstar forward LeBron James to a four-year, $154 million max contract. After having the worst record in basketball the last five years, Magic has brought some Showtime feel back to L.A. and his team should be primed for a huge improvement. Still far and away the best player alive, LeBron alone makes any team instant fringe-contenders.
At age 33, he’s coming off perhaps his (the?) greatest playoff run ever (22 games, 34-9-9 on 61.9 TS%, 5.2 win shares, 14.0 box plus minus, two walk off buzzer beaters, carried a group of castaways to the edge of immortality) and is quite possibly getting better offensively. The ultimate swiss army knife, James should fit in just fine with this young core. Playing him at center and surrounding him with four guys who can slash and shoot is the best shot L.A. has in a series with the Warriors. A Ball-KCP-Ingram-Kuzma-James unit would be a matchup nightmare on both ends, and Magic has mentioned this would be the Lakers’ version of the “Death Lineup”.
Something that gives me hope of someone dethroning the Warriors is that at some point, the Basketball God’s have to reward greatness. Here are LeBron James’ stats in the last three NBA Finals series he’s lost (15 games, 44.3 MPG): 34.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 9.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 55.4 TS%, 4-11 record
Imagine putting up 35-12-10 on a historic workload and not having a chance to win. That’s like working your entire life to buy a brand new Ferrari to come home and find out your neighbours won PowerBall. Perhaps it was the best choice for LeBron to leave Cleveland for L.A.; if he can’t play any better but still can’t win, why not go somewhere to compete at a high level while also optimizing his off-court brand? I personally loved his decision.
I’m also a huge Brandon Ingram supporter (not because he could be Wiz Khalifa’s twin; have we ever seen these two in the same room together?), who quietly slashed 16-5-5 on 50-44-72 percentages in 24 games post January 1st last year. He’ll be 21 next season, has showed signs of rapid improvement and is already incredibly polished as a scorer and a passer. I think he could be an All-Star as early as 2020.
And while I’m not as big on Kyle Kuzma as some, he shot the ball very well for a rookie and has a great blend of size and speed at 6-foot-9. My concerns are that he might not get much better (he’s already 23), couldn’t defend my grandmother, and is wildly inconsistent. I’m not sure you can play him big minutes vs the Warriors. But LeBron, Rondo, and Lonzo Ball (underrated as a rookie; he graded out as an average NBA player without being able to shoot) should flood league pass with jaw-dropping passes, their fast break will be awesome, they have some savvy veterans, and Luke Walton is a really good coach.
While LeBron by himself gives the Lakers an outside chance to upset Golden State, he will probably need another superstar and more defensive help to dethrone them. His team should still be highly competitive while being better suited for the playoffs than the regular season.
(The best thing about the 2019 Lakers? They’ll employ Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, and Javale McGee, with a realistic chance of all four sharing the court together at some point. Plus, the Lavar Ball enigma. This has to be the most entertaining locker room since the 2009 Wizards: Gilbert Arenas (infamously brought four guns to work), Javaris Crittenton (currently serving a 23 year prison sentence for murder), Andray Blatche (responsible for one of the most embarrassing on court moments of the 21st century) Javale McGee (the same Javale, Shaqtin a Fool’s longtime G.O.A.T, once had an eerily similar moment to Blatche), DeShawn Stevenson (Jay-Z tried ending his career), Nick Young (see Azalea, Iggy). Shoutout to the iconic Ernie Grunfield for making that possible. I wonder if the state-wide legalization of weed played a part in Michael Beasley taking his talents to California.)
Lakers projected record: 52-30
Lakers chances of beating the Warriors in a series: 10-15 percent