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

Players

Here are the five best players on the Lakers who will be under contract this summer:

LeBron James: 27 PPG, 9 RPG, 8 APG, .560 eFG%, 108 DEFRTG, 114 OFFRTG, 5.49 RPM

Brandon Ingram: 18 PPG, 5 RPG, 3 APG, .518 eFG%, 112 DEFRTG, 104 OFFRTG, -2.02 RPM

Lonzo Ball: 10 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG, .488 eFG%, 109 DEFRTG, 100 OFFRTG, -0.17 RPM

Kyle Kuzma: 19 PPG, 6 RPG, 3 APG, .515 eFG%, 112 DEFRTG, 105 OFFRTG, 0 RPM

Alex Caruso (sorry Josh Hart): 8.7 PPG, 3 RPG, 2 APG, .555 eFG%, 110 DEFRTG, 118 OFFRTG, 0.38 RPM

Here are the five best players on the Clippers who will be under contract this summer:

Montrezl Harrell: 17 PPG, 7 RPG, 2 APG, .618 eFG%, 109 DEFRTG, 122 OFFRTG, 1.03 RPM

Lou Williams: 20 PPG, 3 RPG, 5 APG, .475 eFG%, 114 DEFRTG, 113 OFFRTG, 0.87 RPM

Danilo Gallinari: 20 PPG, 6 RPG, 3 APG, .556 eFG%, 112 DEFRTG, 125 OFFRTG, 3.11 RPM

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 11 PPG, 3 RPG, 3 APG, .512 eFG%, 112 DEFRTG, 108 OFFRTG, -1.40 RPM

Landry Shamet: 11 PPG, 2 RPG, 2 APG, .572 eFG%, 115 DEFRTG, 121 OFFRTG, 0.36 RPM

The Clippers have surpassed this year expectations and played great basketball, but they’ve been one of the healthiest teams in the NBA this season. Their core consists of Williams, Harrell, Gallinari, Gilgeous-Alexander, Shamet, Patrick Beverley and Ivica Zubac, none of whom have suffered a major injury.

If the Lakers core group of players had had the same type of non-injury luck, they too would be in the playoffs and they’d have a similar record as the Clippers.

None of the Clippers five best players who are signed at least through next season are going to make an All-Star team during their career in the NBA. Montrezl Harrell is the Clippers best bet to make at least one All-Star game, but it’s hard to imagine him leap-frogging Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, or Rudy Gobert.

Landry Shamet and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are both good young players for the Clippers, but they don’t play much defense and they aren’t playmakers. Shamet is especially worrying because he’s shot 32% on his 2-pointers since coming over to the Clippers and he doesn’t pass the ball well or play good D. All of his value is tied up in his .444 3-point percentage, which is clearly unsustainable.

The Lakers have LeBron James, who despite the recent criticism, is still one of the ten best players in the NBA (he’s 7th in RPM and he’s 6th in PIE).

Brandon Ingram’s overall stats on the season are very impressive for a 21-year-old, but during the month of February, before he got injured, Brandon flashed his All-Star potential by averaging 21 PPG, six RPG, three APG, while shooting 38% from deep and playing smothering perimeter defense.

Ingram has a better chance of becoming an All-Star than any player on the Clippers.

Kyle Kuzma’s averaging 19 PPG, while shooting 30% from beyond the arc. If he ever learns how to shoot from deep he could become an All-Star, but if he continues to brick his shots from 3-point range he’ll still be a better version of Lou Williams when he hits his prime because he’s more explosive and he plays superior defense.

Lonzo Ball’s missed just about half of his games during his first two seasons in the NBA because of injury. That’s hurt his development. Despite the fact that Ball hasn’t gotten the in-game reps he needs to learn how to play the game at the highest level, he’s still one of the best defensive point guards in the league, and he has a higher ceiling than any of the guards on the Clippers.

The Lakers have more high-end talent than the Clippers, so the future looks brighter for the Lakers’ players.