ESPN offers grim outlook for Lakers 2024-25 championship aspirations

The Los Angeles Lakers are approaching the 2024-25 season in danger of committing a cardinal sin. Outside of the change at head coach and the selection of Dalton Knecht and Bronny James in the NBA Draft, Los Angeles is on the cusp of running it back with an identical roster.

This approach speaks to the organization's apparent belief that Darvin Ham was the source of the team's disappointment in 2023-24, as well as the hope that the team can improve from 47 wins to a title.

Despite the fact that Anthony Davis and LeBron James helped Team USA win an Olympic gold medal this summer, many analysts are skeptical of the Lakers' ability to win at the highest level. It's an understandable thought process that seems to be spreading among media outlets.

In a recent Summer Forecast article on ESPN, the Lakers were projected to win 44 games and miss the playoffs during the 2024-25 season.

"Could both Los Angeles teams miss the postseason? Our Summer Forecast panel is predicting a setback for both the Lakers and Clippers in 2024-25. James and Davis' crew didn't make many roster moves this offseason, but they did hire Redick as head coach and select Dalton Knecht and Bronny James in the draft."

That's a bold stance to take, but it goes to show how the outside perspective on the Lakers' 2024-25 outlook has skewed heavily toward the negative.

ESPN believes Lakers will miss the playoffs in 2024-25

It's worth noting that Los Angeles is projected to finish with the same 44-38 record as the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds, the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. As such, it would come down to a hypothetical tiebreaker to keep the Lakers out of the Play-In Tournament.

The Lakers have been tasked with going the Play-In route in two consecutive seasons, however, and even a third would be viewed as something of a disappointment.

The hope in Los Angeles is that the 47 wins during the 2023-24 regular season were achieved in spite of Ham. If that proves to be the case, then perhaps the Lakers will prove capable of winning 50 games and returning to the ranks of the contenders.

One of the primary reasons Los Angeles appears so confident is the simple fact that it hopes to have a stronger and healthier second unit during the 2024-25 season.

Jarred Vanderbilt signed a four-year, $48 million extension with the Lakers in September of 2023, while Gabe Vincent inked a three-year, $39 million deal mere months prior. Unfortunately, the two appeared in a combined 40 games during the 2023-24 regular season.

Los Angeles is of the understandable belief that if two of their top defenders and reserves are healthy this coming season, the team should improve.

Fair as that may be, the Lakers haven't won at least 50 games since the championship season in 2019-20. It's also lost eight of its past nine playoff games, albeit against the same opponent in Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

As the rest of the Western Conference improves, and the Lakers seem to stay the same, ESPN appears to believe that the time for regression has arrived.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick will have every opportunity to prove his former coworkers wrong.