The new NBA season is only a few months away. Last season it was the Warriors who won the title, and now the Lakers are expected to prevail again as they did in the 19-20 season. The old and new bookmakers are already beginning to predict who the title contenders will be and amongst them are the Los Angeles team.
But how likely are they to win?
To accurately assess how likely the Lakers are to win this season, we will have to look at their current roster, who their new coach is, and how well prepared the Lakers are expected to be for this upcoming 77th NBA season. This year’s draft will begin on Thursday, 23 June, at Barclays Centre in Brooklyn. Games will officially start in October 2022 and run through to April 2023, with the finals kicking in June 2023.
Expectations are running high, and fans are already looking forward to their respective team’s matches and seeing how well they fare. Although many expect the Golden State Warriors to score yet another season, The Lakers are a strong contender not to be underestimated, even if doubt remains amongst certain sports commentators. The draft has not even started, and Azcentral Duane Rankin is already calling his top six Western Conference teams for this 2022-2023 NBA season. Unfortunately for The Lakers, they have not made it into his top six-team ranking. Although, he has admitted that it is his “way too early list”, so expect changes to be made.
This is an understandable position due to the Lakers’ disappointing performance this 2021-2022 season, with its roster not even qualifying for the playoffs, landing on an 11th position. Many fans eagerly wait for the Lakers to return and retake their rightful spot as the best of the best this season.
Planned Changes for the Lakers
To ensure last season’s mistakes do not haunt the team this upcoming NBA season, a series of much-needed changes might bring fresh air for the team to get back on its feet. For starters, Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel was fired on April 11, 2022, its replacement being Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham.
Also, the team expects heavy changes to their roster as over half of their players are hitting free agency. When all is said and done, it is a matter of seeing which players are under contract to return this season, which players should return, and who should fill in the gaps left behind.
Among the players officially under contract to play for the Lakers this 77th season is LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Talen Horton-Tucker. As for player options, expect to see Kendrick Nun for $5.2 million, as he is already recovered from his year-long absence due to injury. Another player will be Rusell Westbrook for $47.1 million, and both will likely play the Lakers at the beginning of free agency. Amidst other team options for The Lakers, there is Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson and Wenyen Gabriel.
Another potential star who might sign up with the Lakers is Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Andrew Irving. Negotiations between the Lakers and Nets are underway for a potential Russell Westbrook-Kyrie Irving swap. Although, no deal has been concluded so far. However, Irving’s appearance at the Crypto.com arena, and reports suggesting that LeBron James wants Irving to play alongside him, have raised the spirits of many LA fans hoping for a LeBron-Irving dream team-up. Nonetheless, Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green has stated that even with Irving signing up for The Lakers roster, The Lakers would still be unable to overcome The Warriors. But he admits it would make a formidable addition to the roster.
Who should return and who shouldn’t
Having established who will be officially playing for LA and who will remain a team option, it is time to consider which players should remain part of the LA roster to boost their chances next season. Of all players on the LA roster, only James and Davis are indispensable, and the rest can be upgraded for the team’s improvement, ensuring they can synergise with their star players.
Reaves, Johnson and Gabriel should remain in the team since their contracts are team-friendly. But Westbrook, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore should take a break this season since they proved to be more of a liability than a strength. If LA is to recover this next season, their key priority should be to fill out their roster with players of greater size, length and athletic prowess.
However, it is still too early to make any assumptions since we have yet to see how the team will look when free agency officially starts. Until then, it is all speculation.