It was obvious the Los Angeles Lakers would look like a different outfit altogether this upcoming season after the Luka Doncic trade. Complement that with the addition of players like Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia and the Lakers fans have a good reason to be optimistic. And it’s not just the fans who think the Lakers could some serious damage this year, even veterans like Kendrick Perkins are putting their weight behind the purple and gold nation.
Advertisement
The Los Angeles Lakers had been trying to find a viable replacement for a star player like LeBron James, so when Luka Doncic fell into their lap, they gobbled him up right away. The next problem on the list was depth on the bench.
In the regular season (2024-25), they were able to cover up these flaws en route to securing a top-three seed. However, the Minnesota Timberwolves completely exposed their issues. Consequently, in Game 4 of their first-round series, Redick lost his entire trust in the bench.
All the starters played the entire second half, except for Jaxson Hayes, who was replaced by Dorian Finney-Smith. As bold as it was on Redick’s part, it was also unsustainable. They seem to have fixed it over the last transfer window. As a result, NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins believes the Lakers have put themselves in a position to contend.
“In my opinion, the Lakers are the third-best team in the NBA,” Perkins said on the Road Trippin’ podcast. “All three teams that I have are top three in the Western Conference. OKC, Houston, and Lakers.”
It certainly is a bold prediction considering the Eastern Conference, despite its issues, still has a few formidable teams. The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers simply can’t be overlooked.
What makes Perkins assessment sound a little bizarre though is that he put the Lakers above the newly revamped Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets. It didn’t take long for his co-host Richard Jefferson to point out a flaw in Perkins’ logic.
“So you say that ideally those are the only two teams better than [the Lakers] in the conference?” Jefferson asked. “So, ladies and gentlemen, Perk just established that the Lakers he has losing in the second round.”
Of course, Perkins didn’t explicitly say such a thing, but the context of his comment alludes to that outcome. If the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder are better than the Lakers, by default, they would be the eventual Conference Finals matchup. One of those teams would knock Los Angeles out of the playoffs.
In Perkins’ defense, he didn’t state the Lakers would be in the NBA Finals or anything of that nature. “Do I have them picked to win it all? No,” Perkins declared.
Jefferson could agree with Perkins on that front, but not on the Lakers being a top-three team in the NBA. In his opinion, the Lakers are a little bit lower.
“I think they’re like the fifth or sixth best team, that’s my opinion,” Jefferson proclaimed. “Fifth or sixth best team typically lose in the second round.”
Perkins, on the other hand, doesn’t believe it’s a foregone conclusion that the Rockets would just walk right past the Lakers.
“If they happen to match up and both squads were healthy, the Rockets would actually have to play some pretty damn good basketball,” Perkins said.
Of course, a potential matchup won’t be at full health since Rockets guard Fred VanVleet is out for the season. However, a duel between Kevin Durant and LeBron James in the playoffs would be great for basketball. It will be just a matter of time before the Lakers prove whether they’re capable of living up to Perkins’ expectations or not.
