Los Angeles Lakers vs. LA Clippers: Which team has a more optimistic future?

The Los Angeles Clippers are having a better season than the Los Angeles Lakers, but which one of LA’s teams has the best future outlook?

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers seem to be heading in opposite directions. The Clippers have surged to a 47-33 record, which is good for 6th place in the difficult Western Conference. At the same time the Lakers have a 36-44 record and are lottery bound.

The Clippers have made the postseason six out of the last seven seasons, while the Lakers have missed the playoffs six years in a row.

Despite the facts listed above, nobody in Los Angeles cares about the Clippers. The “other” team in LA has the 2nd lowest local TV ratings in the NBA at a 0.58 average market share. The Clippers also have had the third largest ticket price drop this season; the average price for a Clippers ticket is $34.80.

Despite the fact that the Lakers have played awful this season, according to Sports Media Watch, “The lottery-bound Lakers are arguably the NBA’s biggest draw.”

"“The Lakers, who enter the All-Star break under .500 and 2 1/2 games out of the playoffs, have played in seven of the top ten games thus far. Golden State, by comparison, has played in three of the top ten — two of which came against the Lakers.”"

Furthermore, the average Lakers ticket price is nearly ten times higher than the Clippers, at $444.00.

While the Clippers have had more recent success than the Lakers, it’s clear that the Purple and Gold are still the most popular team in Los Angeles.

Let’s examine the Lakers current roster, their head coach, and their front office to see if they can go from the most viewed team in LA, to actually winning more games than the Clippers in the future.