Los Angeles Lakers are on the right track

It’s a new beginning and the Los Angeles Lakers are starting to cruise back to the NBA top, a place where they really belong.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been synonymous to losing in the last four years and as harsh as it may sound, the name Los Angeles ‘Losers’ sounds more of a fitting moniker for the franchise.

Racking up losses over the last four seasons coupled with Kobe Bryant’s decline was tough to endure. Bryant, the cutthroat, monomaniacal, invincible, gladiator. It turned out, Bryant was human after all.

Kobe might have flashed some Kobe of old performances, but it’s as clear as day that he wasn’t the vicious mamba anymore – a reminder that father time is still undefeated. His 60-point performance on his last NBA game was astonishing but it’s still a painful goodbye to one of the greatest ever.

Then there were the injuries that plagued the team.

Last season, the Lakers turned heads when they put forth a good start of 10 wins against 10 losses with victories against strong teams like the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls. But the Lakers went back to Earth, though, when injuries have befallen the team, most notably, that of Russell and Young’s.

They then lost eight in a row and went on to another rough year.

The Lakers talented young core of Randle, Russell, and Ingram have also shown flashes of brilliance and had fans hyped for the team’s future. But then comes their growing pains and more pains than growing, pained the fans. The truth is, they’re too young and too inconsistent, to compete in a brutal Western Conference.

Making matters worse was the Lakers being spurned by top-tier free agents to join much more competitive teams as obviously; no one wants to join a losing team after all.

It was devastating, a storied organization with a winning tradition, is living in the NBA cellar.

The failures have shattered the franchise and left it in shambles. The miseries had fans frustrated as the Lakers’ road back to the NBA top has seemed more tedious and gloomy.

But as cliché as it may sound, we all know that every storm will pass and the Lakers’ one has finally shriveled.

The sun is shining again and the rainbow is more visible than ever. There is this rebirth of hope that springs flowers of optimism.

The basketball gods smiled upon the Lakers once more time as they were able to keep their top three protected pick back in the lottery night. It would have been a demise had the Lakers pick went outside of the top three selections as they would have relinquish it to the Sixers as part of the Steve Nash trade back in 2012.

But no, destiny wouldn’t be stop.

The Lakers drafted Lonzo Ball, a passing savant from UCLA, second overall. The 6’6” point guard dominated the summer league through his all around play, but what really stood out the most was his preternatural passing ability and court vision.

He put up dazzling passes much to the delight of the fans. His pass-first mentality was contagious as his teammates were dishing extra passes for a better scoring opportunity. Ball wound up as the Summer League MVP and the Lakers were champions of the tournament after beating the Blazers in the championship game.

Winning the tournament perhaps doesn’t mean a lot, but for the Lakers that incurred so many defeats in the last few years, it was something, it was special, and it felt great. Yes it’s only Summer League, but isn’t that winning starts in small things?

This is the start then and the Lakers have established a good foundation with a promising player in Lonzo Ball.

Ball’s magnificent performance in the Summer League provided Lakers fans not only entertainment but also hope that he’s going to lead his hometown team into greater heights just like what he did in Chino Hills and UCLA.

It seemed like Ball is destined to save the teams he belongs from destruction and turn it into another level, the kind with entertainment and flair.

The kind of his own, ‘ZoTime’.

Then there was also Kyle Kuzma, who drilled a barrage of three-pointers in the Summer League Finals and willed the Lakers to victory. The 27^th pick of this year’s draft earned Championship Game MVP honors following his stellar performance on that contest. He actually had a great showing in the tournament as he was piercing long bombs and using his speed to outrun and score against his defenders.

The 6’9″ forward seems like another steal of the draft for the team just like Jordan Clarkson back in 2014.

And of course, who would forget Brandon Ingram?

In his lone game in the summer league against the Clippers, he displayed his superstar potential the fans have waited for so long. With his long limbs and improved muscle tone, the last year’s second overall pick dominated his defenders either from the post or outside.

He was completely unstoppable and was solid on the defensive end as well, blocking shots by using his seemingly endless arms. Ingram showed more promise than ever and was looking like the real deal, proving that the Lakers were right on being patient with his development.

The success of the Lakers youth this summer was fun to watch. It not only offered entertainment but also excitement that team’s future is bright.

Yes, the future is exciting, but of all, the present is the most important and things are looking better than ever before.

Outside the Lakers young core, the addition of All-Star caliber big man in Brook Lopez and a defensive ace in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the teams’ roster has been much improved compared to last season.

Lopez is a very potent scorer down low as he is armed with his array of post moves. He also shoots well from beyond the arc for a big man and can also play solid defense in the paint.

Of all these skills, Lopez’s outside sniping is what the Lakers would really benefit from. It would help to stretch the opposing team’s defense and in effect, it will create more space for his front court partner in Julius Randle to feast inside.

Randle is set to bully his defenders this upcoming season as he has really transformed his body into its tip-top shape and if the defense collapses on him, expect the rugged forward to kick out the ball to Lopez for a swish.

Expect more driving lanes for the Lakers guards and wings by the way.

Then there’s KCP.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is different on his own. The 6-foot-5 guard is a very good defender and can lock-down the opposing team’s best player as long as perimeter players are concerned. The Lakers have been searching for a guard that defends very well for quite some time and now they finally got one.

But he isn’t just all about defense, though, as he can score the ball as well. He is one the best two-way players in the NBA and that’s not even an exaggeration.

He is.

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The Lakers were able to put up a competitive roster while also maintaining cap space flexibility for next year as they look to be major players in free agency.

Losing D’Angelo Russell was tough, but it’s a price the Lakers have paid to get rid of Timofey Mozgov’s bloated contract and in the process, creating the cap room the team needs to sign big time free agents like Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, and even LeBron James?

Who knows?

The Lakers are doing something special and people around the league are noticing it.

According to ESPN, Timberwolves guard Jamal Crawford even said that he considered joining the team this recent free agency season with the belief that the franchise is on a rise. The Lakers want him too but he ultimately signed with the Wolves, though, because the Lakers were contemplating on their options and he can’t wait for that long as reported in the HoopsHype Podcast with Alex Kennedy.

Nonetheless, it’s a great sign for the team that a player of Crawford’s caliber has considered the Lakers as a team to be in.

It’s a proof that the Lakers brand is no longer dead and with the electric style the team will play headed by the young dynamic duo of Ball and Ingram, top-tier free agents would strongly consider joining the storied franchise in the coming years.

Los Angeles Lakers

ESPN’s Kelvin Pelton and NBA.com’s David Aldrige have also lauded and gave the Lakers strong grades for all the offseason moves it has done. Thanks to Rob Pelinka and Laker great Magic Johnson for pulling off such movements and now the Lakers’ ship is running steadily.

There will be rough waters along the way but the Lakers would not be denied to cruise back to NBA relevance. Magic seemed has his magic working again just like his magical passes back in the day.

There is no shortage of motivation from the players as well.

Jordan Clarkson was frustrated on his 2K18 rating, Brook Lopez and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both on their contract year, Randle is stronger than ever before with his ripped body (and is also on his contract year), Luol Deng has a lot of mouths to shut; so expect these players to show off this upcoming season and prove their critics wrong.

And by the way, the new Lakers practice facility is really a beautiful place for players to work their game on and it’s something that can fuel them to work harder.

The revamped Lakers doesn’t guarantee that they’re going to make the playoffs next year especially in a loaded Western Conference but the storied franchise has put itself in a position to bring back the culture of winning again.

Next: Ranking the 50 greatest Lakers of all-time

Fans can now expect a competitive Lakers team and an entertaining one. And while losing might always come, it’s tolerable as fans would be provided highlight after highlight by Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and the rest of the team .

It’s a new beginning.

The tide has turned and the wind is blowing the Lakers’ way.

There is this atmosphere of excitement and electricity that fans are feeling across the world.

There’s still a long way to go, but ladies and gentlemen… the Los Angeles Lakers are back.