Are Playoffs a Realistic Option for the Lakers in 2015-2016?

Jul 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (1) dribbles the ball during an NBA Summer League game against the Knicks at Thomas & Mack Center. Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Are the Lakers a playoff team next year? In a word, no. But here’s why.

The Lakers are coming off a 21-61 season where their best additions from the offseason are two rookies, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle. Yes, Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass are all quality additions, especially Hibbert and the defensive prowess that he brings, but neither of the three are likely long-term options for Los Angeles.

Russell and Randle are, hopefully, two cornerstones for the future. One that sadly won’t begin with a trip to the playoffs.

Eight teams make it to the big dance from each conference. Of the eight teams that made it in the West last year, only two suffered significant enough losses that could derail their playoff hopes – the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers. The other six teams either got better or were so good that staying the same meant a return to the playoffs. So let’s go ahead and pencil in Golden State, San Antonio, Houston, the Clippers, Memphis and New Orleans for a playoff trip.

That leaves two spots — but wait something’s missing … Oh yeah, there’s that team with that guy Kevin Durant and that other guy who’s like a fashion king or something. They’ll probably be in the playoffs, too. That leaves one spot for Phoenix, Utah, Portland, Dallas, Sacramento, Minnesota and the Lakers to chase (no Denver you’re wayyyyy out of this race).

Kind of crowded, don’t ya think?

Utah probably has the best chance of any of the other teams. I’m a fan of what they’re building with Rudy Gobert as the centerpiece of what should be a top-10 defense. Their star players are all relatively young from Gobert to Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Alec Burks. They could possibly fight their way into one of the final three spots in the playoffs.

Phoenix has been just outside of the playoffs for the past two seasons, and that could change with the addition of the aging defensive stalwart, Tyson Chandler, and the growth of Phoenix’s young core in Brandon Knight, Alex Len, Markieff Morris (maybe?) and of course Eric Bledsoe (maybe?). Len should learn from Chandler, as Chandler improves Phoenix’s defense with top notch defender Bledsoe. They lack depth off the bench, but the Suns aren’t totally void of talent there. They should have enough to win 45 to 50 games.

Then there’s Sacramento, the most laughable, yet most intriguing team heading into the 2015-2016 season. The spacing Gods definitely did not bless the Kings, and they’ll struggle to find space with a lineup that will likely feature three-point specialists such as Rajon Rondo, Willie Cauley-Stein and Demarcus Cousins.

Ball-stoppers, Rondo, Cousins and Rudy Gay won’t help produce the fluent, pass-happy team George Karl likes to have. In addition to Cousins’ relationship with Karl, the Kings have plenty of problems. However, they should be good defensively and Karl is an excellent coach, even if a lot of his former and even current players believe he’s a snake in the grass. I wouldn’t be surprised if they won 48 games, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they won 30.

Dallas is attempting to retool by helping Deron Williams find his game again, Space Jam style, after losing Chandler, Rondo and Monta Ellis in free agency. With Chandler Parsons, old man Dirk Nowitsky, Wesley Matthews recovering from a torn ACL and what’s left of a broken down Williams, the Mavericks don’t exactly scream playoff team.

Portland is rebuilding after losing LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez and Matthews. Although they’ve made some solid additions in Mason Plumlee, Ed Davis and Al-Farouq Aminu, it’s likely not enough to secure a playoff spot.

Minnesota (get well soon Flip!) is building something very special. They have Andrew Wiggins, Zach Lavine and Karl-Anthony Towns, plus Ricky Rubio, Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng and Kevin Garnett to teach them to eat their Honey Nut Cheerios. There’s loads of young talent there and they’re scheduled to open the season against the Lakers, who also have a lot of young talent, but not as much as Minnesota.

The Lakers and the Wolves are pretty much in the same boat. They have bright futures, but not a whole lot to look forward to, other than properly building that young talent and finding the right coach to guide them. L.A. is probably looking at something between 32-40 wins, with 40 being the max, which would take beyond normal rookie of the year seasons from Russell and Randle, and no major injuries.

Of course this all hinges on the health – something the Lakers struggled with the past few seasons – of each team. A Durant injury here, a coaching disaster, a Cousins flu there and teams start losing, creating the opportunity for teams like Dallas, Portland, Los Angeles and Minnesota to make their case to become one of the final 16 teams.

Realistically the Lakers aren’t a playoff team as constructed, and that’s OK. The goal should be to win as many games as possible, and if you’re just that bad to tank for a top three pick and keep it away from Philadelphia, continue to develop the youth, find out if Byron Scott is your coach for the next 10 years (he’s not) and most of all, just stay healthy.