The biggest wave of the NBA offseason might be over but the Los Angeles Lakers are still in the rumor mill. Los Angeles is hoping that the Brooklyn Nets end up trading Kevin Durant so Kyrie Irving could be a Laker but that is seeming less and less likely by the day.
It certainly is not impossible, but it no longer seems as likely as it did three weeks ago.
Regardless, the Lakers are going to continue to gauge the market, particularly for Russell Westbrook, as the current version of the team is not good enough to contend. This could extend to the NBA trade deadline, which would be a mistake, but that is how bad the market is.
There are several directions the Los Angeles Lakers could go, all of which create different starting 5s for the team next season.
Ranking 4 possible starting lineups for the Los Angeles Lakers this season:
4. The current starting lineup
- PG: Russell Westbrook
- SG: Lonnie Walker IV
- SF: LeBron James
- PF: Anthony Davis
- C: Thomas Bryant
This would likely be the starting lineup if the season were to start today and despite having two elite players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it simply is not good enough to make a deep playoff run.
Russell Westbrook fits in so poorly with his superstar teammates and the depth is not there for the Lakers. While the team got younger, it got worse in going from Malik Monk to Lonnie Walker, so even that is not that exciting.
Thomas Bryant has potential but is not going to change the fate of the Lakers by himself. If the team stays healthy it could absolutely be better than last season but that is not really saying much. In the crowded Western Conference, this version of the Lakers would be lucky to escape the play-in as a top-six seed.