Los Angeles Lakers: Predicting a floor and ceiling for 2021-22

Predicting a floor and ceiling for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22. 

Even though the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have much financial flexibility heading into 2021-22, the overwhelming thought was that this team would improve one way or another. And they did exactly that by acquiring a third star via trade and then filling out the rest of their roster with quality role players.

Officially, the Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook via trade and signed Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk, Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, and Carmelo Anthony in free agency. Who knows if this roster will be enough to compete in the Western Conference, but as long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy, they’ll have a shot.

The difficult part is trying to project what we should expect from the Lakers in 2021-22. On the surface, the general expectation is that this team is going to vault themselves back into contention in the West.

However, that’s never a given in the NBA. In an attempt to evaluate what would be a fair expectation for the Lakers, we will explore a potential floor and ceiling for this team. In the process, hopefully, we can fall into what could end up unfolding this season as it pertains to the new-look Lakers.