Insane Lakers media day quotes that you have to see to believe

Los Angeles Lakers media day was on Monday which means it is time for the players and the executives to sell the media and the fans on a team that we have spent all offseason dissecting and being disappointed by.

It does not matter that the Lakers are coming off of the most disappointing season in franchise history and didn’t do that much to improve. This is a new beginning, right? That is the narrative that will be sold to us until the Lakers actually step foot on the basketball court.

Some of the things that were said during media day were your run-of-the-mill quotes about the season, high expectations and only looking at the glass half-full. However, some of the quotes are so insane that you have to see them to believe them.

Here are some Lakers media day quotes that you have to see to believe:

1. Lakers’ absurd confidence in a bad defensive unit

This is perhaps the worst example of believing your own bias that you could ever actually see. Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham actually sat up there, and with a straight face, told us that the Lakers are going to be an elite defensive team. And the worst part is that it seems like they actually believe it.

There is not a basketball mind out there that actually thinks this team is going to be any good at defense, particularly with the team’s wing defense. Considering the Lakers are convincing themselves that Patrick Beverley is actually a wing, though, I am not surprised that they are drinking their own hype juice.

Los Angeles was one of the worst defensive teams in the entire league last season and outside of Pat Bev, they only got worse (and smaller) defensively.

2. Russell Westbrook skirts around a question about him being “wanted”

This is just a wonderful sign to see before the season even begins! While Westbrook did not go scorched earth as he did in his exit interview last season, this response indicates that there is already a weird dynamic between Russ and the organization.

While Westbrook did not outright say that he does not feel wanted, he did dance around the question and essentially confirmed that he does feel this way, saying that it does not matter and there are always people at your job who don’t want you there.

I can promise you one thing: everyone on the Los Angeles Lakers wants LeBron James and Anthony Davis there.

It is just absurd that the Lakers organization is pushing this optimism that Russ could bounce back and have a fantastic season for the team this year. However, Russ himself seemingly doesn’t feel wanted by the team. That is going to lead to wins, I am sure of it.

3. Rob Pelinka sells snake oil to Lakers fans

We dedicated an entire article to this quote and how ludicrous it is when you consider what the team actually has done versus what Pelinka is saying they will do. Here, Lakers fans can seemingly rest assured knowing that the front office will be hard at work to improve the team.

However, these are the same two picks that the Lakers refused to trade all summer. Pelinka also talks about doing whatever they can to win but they don’t want to take on non-expiring contracts so they can avoid the repeater tax next year. Fully committed? Right.

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As I said before if the Lakers were committing to being a middling team and the fans knew that then fine, at least the two parties would see eye to eye. But to promise the best fan base in the sport something, when you very obviously don’t mean it? That’s not what any Lakers fan wants.