When LeBron James signed a 4 year deal with the Lakers last July almost everyone just assumed the Lakers would be a top 4 seed in the Western conference. Yours truly said they are a 6th seed at best in the loaded Western conference. I could still be proven wrong barring a miracle but it’s not looking good for the purple and gold. The biggest reason why they are sitting at the 10th spot is because Mr James missed 18 games this season but Los Angeles just doesn’t boast a super talented roster. The Lakers have a lot of young players that are solid but they aren’t exactly all stars like LeBron is used to playing with. He’s played with 2 high quality all stars from 2010 to 2018. Although hes a beast, that’s a big part of why his teams were in the finals every year in the pathetic eastern conference. The idea that he was going to transform a young and pretty average Lakers team into a finals contender was simply ridiculous to me.
It would help if 3 of their last number 2 overall picks panned out. Lonzo Ball was annointed the next Jason Kidd before stepping foot on an nba court because he has a big mouth dad. Ingram is a good scorer but still needs work on his all around game. Kyle Kuzma is a stud but im not sold on him being Lebrons new D Wade. D’Angelo Russell is an all star but he plays for the Nets. (What a steal of a trade for Brooklyn). Its looking like they should’ve stayed patient with him as Brooklyn did but credit to Kenny Atkinson for working with D’lo. I still think they can get a 6 through 8 seed but that’s about it. If they can sign a big time free agent and a rim protector the Lakers should be much better next year, but don’t expect the King to make his 9th straight finals this season.