The Los Angeles Lakers have remained relatively quiet on the free agency front during the 2024 NBA offseason. Outside of re-signing Max Christie and LeBron James, and handing out three two-way contracts, the Lakers have been effectively dormant.
There have been an abundance of theories as to why Los Angeles has been reluctant to make a move, but the answer may be simpler than it seems: The belief that it's already prepared to contend.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James are among the growing list of Lakers players to express their belief that the team, as currently constructed, can compete for a championship. It's a bold stance to take, but it's becoming increasingly more prominent in a locker room that seems determined to silence its critics.
Per Nicole Ganglani of Silver Screen and Roll, starting shooting guard Austin Reaves is the latest Laker to voice the belief that the team can contend in 2024-25.
Also asked the Lakers guard about the Lakers’ moves this summer (or lack thereof) and he said that he believes the Lakers have enough to compete for a championship. Reaves also talked about why he’s excited to play for JJ Redick. pic.twitter.com/m5dUqP731Y
— Nicole Ganglani (@nicoleganglani) August 3, 2024
For those who can't see the video, Reaves said the following:
"I like where we’re at. I think that we have what we need to go compete for a championship. You look back at the Denver series last year, and I forget the statistic, but I think we led for like 140 minutes to their 38 minutes or something, and we get beat in five, 4-1, which you can’t even really wrap your mind around. But it was just a couple of sequences down the stretch that we didn’t execute and they executed, and if we do, we beat them in that series, and we go on and have an opportunity to play Minnesota."
It's easy to cite the Lakers' first-round exit as an example of their limited potential as a team, but Reaves makes compelling points about how close the team was to advancing.
Austin Reaves latest Lakers player to double down on title aspirations
To Reaves' point, the Lakers were in control of every game during the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. They led 60-57 at halftime in Game 1, were up 79-69 heading into the fourth quarter in Game 2, and even held a 53-49 lead after two quarters in Game 3.
After winning Game 4 to prevent a sweep, the Lakers led 53-50 at halftime in Game 5 before falling 108-106 after Jamal Murray buried a game-winner with 3.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
It's certainly understandable for Los Angeles to be optimistic about its title odds after losing four games in which it had leads. Considering those outings transpired against the 2023 NBA champions and 2023-24 NBA MVP, Nikola Jokic, its resolve is likely strengthened.
Compounded by the fact that the Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals as recently as 2022-23, it's hard to call their title ambitions purely unrealistic.
The rest of the NBA has improved in the year since Los Angeles reached the Conference Finals. Teams with young superstars such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder are on the rise, and the Dallas Mavericks added Klay Thompson after reaching the 2024 NBA Finals.
The Denver Nuggets have seemingly regressed, but with an 8-1 postseason record against the Lakers over the past two seasons, it's impossible to overlook them.
Other teams are likely to thrive in 2024-25, as well, making the Lakers' path to an 18th championship far from enviable. True as that may be, Los Angeles is equipped with two All-NBA players in Davis and James, and seems to believe that parting ways with Darvin Ham is a case of addition by subtraction.
Ambitious or not, a team with two superstars who have already won a championship in the jersey they currently wear should always believe that it can compete at the highest level.