LeBron James’ Lakers Projected as 7th Best Team in West Due to Lack of Offseason Signings

After the Lakers suffered a season-ending series loss to the Nuggets for the second year running, the common consensus was that the team needed a new head coach and some star players to return to contention. They swapped Darvin Ham for rookie head coach JJ Redick but failed to provide him with any new tools to work with.

Brian Windhorst and Tim McMahon believe LA’s lack of activity in the offseason is an ominous sign for the team as they are now left to contend with a middle-of-the-pack roster in the loaded Western Conference. On an episode of The Hoop Collective, the duo discussed the Lakers’ best-case scenario for next season. McMahon said,

“What I have them ranked at is basically the seventh-best team in the Western Conference which is what they were last year.”

Windhorst noted that the Lakers would argue that last season wasn’t an accurate reflection of the team’s strength as several players spent extended periods sidelined with injuries, affecting their results. However, he argued that banking on injury-prone players to be healthy for an entire season isn’t optimal. The veteran analyst said,

“The Lakers fans would not say that they were healthy last year. Their two stars were healthy but their role players weren’t…I agree [role players being healthy is equally or more important], you’re projecting that if you were healthy last year you may not be healthy this year but you can say the opposite as well.”

Windhorst conceded that some players could have an uptick in performance under Redick, especially Austin Reaves, whose skill set is pretty comparable to his head coach’s during his playing days. He also revealed that the Lakers notified teams they wouldn’t entertain any offers for the guard,

“I just know that JJ really believes in Austin Reaves and I think he’s going to try to put him in position to be successful. Whether that actually happens or not…I just know JJ has big plans for Austin Reaves. And not only that, when there were discussions [regarding trade] with the Lakers this summer…and Austin Reaves came up, it was a hard no.”

The Lakers are in a precarious position. They don’t have the cap space or assets to significantly improve the roster but are under pressure to build a team worthy of competing for the title as LeBron James is nearing the end of his career. Like always, they’ll be the under most scrutiny in the upcoming campaign.