NBA Rumors: Insiders View Lakers as Play-In Team, Not Title Contenders

Adam WellsJuly 16, 2024

Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

After not making any major moves in free agency, people around the NBA are expecting the Los Angeles Lakers to be exactly what they have been for the past two seasons.

In a poll of more than a dozen executives, coaches, scouts and agents attending Summer League conducted by The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the Lakers were most often cited as a play-in team in the Western Conference.

Buha did note the range of seeds from the people who voted was as high as fifth and as low as 10th, but no one viewed the Lakers as presently constructed as being a title contender.

It’s hard to see how a team whose highest-profile addition this offseason was the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft got substantially better. Granted, a lot of that is because Bronny James is the son of arguably the best player in league history.

But it does speak to how little the front office has been able to do so far. The Lakers haven’t signed any outside free agents. They are also banking on JJ Redick, who has no previous coaching experience at any level, as their head coach after a tumultuous season with Darvin Ham.

The non-activity this offseason wasn’t for lack of trying. The Lakers offered Klay Thompson a deal worth $20 million per season, but the Golden State Warriors rejected a sign-and-trade deal involving D’Angelo Russell.

Bleacher Report @BleacherReportLakers offered Klay Thompson ‘$20M per [year]’ and proposed D’Angelo Russell to Warriors in sign-and-trade deal.

The Warriors declined, per @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/HcfK0PxoM0

Los Angeles does have some intriguing trade chips to offer as general manager Rob Pelinka continues to explore ways to upgrade the roster. Russell is playing on an $18.7 million expiring contract. The Lakers can also use their first-round draft picks in 2029 and 2031 available in a potential swap.

The Lakers have finished as a play-in team three times in the past four seasons since winning the 2019-20 NBA championship. They made the playoffs all three times, losing in the first round twice and Western Conference Finals once.

Los Angeles’ 47 wins last season were its most since the 2019-20 campaign (52). LeBron James and Anthony Davis played a combined 147 games in 2023-24. It was their first time they both played at least 65 games in five seasons as teammates.