How will the new look Lakers do this season?
As you all know by now, LeBron has signed a four-year $153.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Like most people, I predicted that LeBron would choose LA. At the end of the day, this decision was about more than basketball, which is why he chose the Lakers. He will be able to do more outside of basketball in LA, will be able to live in a great city and will be able to spend time with his family. It is a long-term decision because he will be 38 when the deal ends, so it may be his final contract if he is worn out by then. At this point in his career, LeBron made the right decision. With LeBron signed, most people expected a lot of big time players to sign with the Lakers, as LeBron will need a superteam to compete in the west. Before LeBron had even signed, Paul George chose to stay with the Thunder in a long-term deal. Honestly, this decision shocked me because I believed that Paul George would want to sign with Lakers, as he had said multiple times that he wanted to be a Laker. However, he went against these statements and chose to play with the ball-hog Westbrook. With Paul George gone, the Lakers moved on to their next superstar choice, DeMarcus Cousins, but he signed a one-year deal with the Warriors. With the best free agents gone, the Lakers had to take what they could get and signed many players to one year deals. One player the Lakers signed was JaVale McGee. I believe that this was a good temporary decision because McGee can provide some good minutes with his athleticism. I think that LeBron will be able to make him less of a distraction, which will increase his value. Next, the Lakers acquired Lance Stephenson, who is known as a person that LeBron gets frustrated by. This just shows how much LeBron respected Lance because he knew that Lance did a good job on him. Stephenson will provide great minutes off the bench throughout the season, especially in the playoffs. Finally, the Lakers signed Rajon Rondo to a deal. This acquisition told me the most about the Lakers future. They are done with Lonzo in my opinion. Rondo is probably the best version of what Lonzo could become. By acquiring Rondo, the Lakers are showing that Lonzo is not the focus of the franchise and that they are willing to let go of him if teams will take him. Even though the Lakers were not able to land another superstar, they still got some decent experienced players who will temporarily help the team. However, this team is not ready to face the Warriors or play in the NBA Finals yet. Because LeBron signed a four-year deal, the Lakers have plenty of time to figure stuff out. I think that they will wait for next offseason where they can sign some superstars who want to play with LeBron. They will probably acquire Kawhi Leonard because he has said that he wants to go to LA. The Lakers are not championship ready currently, but they are just one star away from being a contender. I think that the Lakers will have a decent season. They still have LeBron, who will be able to carry them throughout the regular season along with the help from his supporting cast, which is better than the one he had last year. I think that the Lakers will win around 50 games and will be the 2-5 seed. If they can get Kawhi during the season, then they will be the 2 or 3 seed and will become a championship contender. The Lakers have time, but they need to make sure that they get another star to play with LeBron. Otherwise, you will be wasting his talent.
