The Los Angeles Lakers roster underwent significant changes in the 2021 offseason. The team made the biggest move of the entire offseason, trading Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft for Russell Westbrook.
This not only created two new roster spots for the Lakers to fill but also put them in a bind financially. Rob Pelinka was tasked with building out a rotation with mostly veteran minimum signings and he knocked the ball out of the park.
Despite the team being very deep, the Lakers are still receiving a lot of criticism in NBA circles. The team’s age has been brought into question and of course, since it is a LeBron James-led team, they are being doubted.
The team certainly has something to prove as do three specific players on the Los Angeles Lakers roster.
Every player has something to prove but there are three players who noticeably have more pressure to prove something than their teammates. Ironically enough, LeBron nor Westbrook are one of the three players.
LeBron has already done enough in his career and while he definitely wants to prove his naysayers wrong, he could retire today and go down as one of the three greatest players of all time. Westbrook definitely wants to win a championship for his own personal legacy, but with the expectations so low, the only thing he can really do is shock the league in a positive way.
Let’s dive into the three players that have the most to prove, whether it be because of their contract situation or their standing in the league.