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Los Angeles Lakers ranked in bottom third of ESPN’s NBA Power Rankings

By Kenneth Teape

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 10: Jordan Clarkson #6, Lonzo Ball #2 and Josh Hart #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers react to a play during a preseason game against the Utah Jazz on October 10, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 10: Jordan Clarkson #6, Lonzo Ball #2 and Josh Hart #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers react to a play during a preseason game against the Utah Jazz on October 10, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers come in at No. 21 in ESPN’s NBA Power Rankings.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the middle of a rebuild but heading in the right direction. This offseason, they made moves in hopes of the rebuild ending sooner than later. There is no doubt that the roster has improved, but there is still work to be done.

The biggest move the Lakers made this offseason was acquiring Brook Lopez from the Brooklyn Nets. It was a trade that was motivated by finances, as the Lakers wanted to get out of Timofey Mozgov‘s contract. It cost them D’Angelo Russell, but Lopez will help the Lakers on both ends of the court.

In addition to Lopez, the Lakers also acquired the No. 27 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. By trading the No. 28 overall pick to the Utah Jazz for No. 30 and No. 42, the Lakers came away from the 2017 NBA Draft with four selections.

Lonzo Ball was selected with the No. 2 overall pick, followed by Kyle Kuzma at No. 27, Josh Hart at No. 30 and Thomas Bryant at No 42. Those four players add to an already strong group of young players the Lakers are hoping take a step forward in the 2017-18 season.

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Brandon Ingram has the highest ceiling of the holdovers. Larry Nance Jr. provides a defensive presence with the second unit while Jordan Clarkson provides a scoring punch. Julius Randle has gotten into great shape, and Ivica Zubac showed a lot of promise as a rookie despite an underwhelming Las Vegas Summer League performance in July.

The only new addition the Lakers made in free agency was signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Like Lopez, Caldwell-Pope will be counted on to help improve the Lakers three-point shooting and defense.

The Lakers roster is better, but there are still some holes that need to be filled. The defense has been poor thus far in the preseason, as they haven’t stopped anyone outside the Sacramento Kings in one game.

The Lakers have work to be done, but are heading in the right direction. ESPN’s NBA Power Rankings recognize that improvements were made, but the Lakers are not yet true playoff contenders in the loaded Western Conference.

In their NBA preview, ESPN took a little bit of a different approach. They compared the chances for every team in the NBA in defeating the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers came in at No. 21 overall, giving them the 20th best chance of knocking off the Warriors.

Here is what they had to say about the Lakers spot in the rankings.

"The Lakers are back, right? Not yet. Although Magic has visions of Lonzo Ball and Brandon INgram becoming the next Showtime combo, the Lakers were last in D-rating (110.6) and are projected to be 28th in 2017-18. The team’s best hope to gain ground on the Warriors? Succeed where they’ve repeatedly failed: winning free agency and luring LeBron to La La Land. — Ohm Youngmisuk"

The defense was the biggest problem for the Lakers last season, and it looks like it will be once again this upcoming season. The Lakers just don’t have many players that excel on that end of the court; overhauling a roster will take more than one offseason.

The Lakers are on the right track thanks to Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka putting a plan in place and sticking to it. They are in good shape moving forward with two potential franchise cornerstones and a boatload of cap space.

Next: 50 Greatest Players In Lakers History

Now, the question is, can they capitalize on that cap space and land some difference-making max free agents?

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