RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the 2026-27 NBA season with almost a brand-new roster, and ESPN’s Malika Andrews thinks they’ll take a step back from last season. When discussing whether the Lakers or the Boston Celtics will exceed expectations on NBA Today , Andrews revealed she expects them to be in the same boat.
“I see both of these teams as having actually fairly similar paths,” Andrews said. “They’re both going to be fighting to be sort of in that top six, maybe in danger of falling out of that top six in the league.”
Now, the Lakers haven’t finished outside the top four in the Western Conference since JJ Redick took over as head coach in 2024. They were the third seed in 2024-25 with a 50-32 record and the fourth seed in 2025-26 with a 53-29 record.
Redick, of course, had a certain LeBron James ‘ assistance in those two seasons, and that is no longer the case. James is among the many notable names who have departed the Lakers this offseason, with Marcus Smart , Rui Hachimura , and Luke Kennard also heading out of town.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are now the only key pieces left over, and they’ve seen the Lakers bring in the likes of Walker Kessler , Quentin Grimes , Sandro Mamukelashvili , Collin Sexton , Kevon Looney , Ziaire Williams , and Matisse Thybulle . It is an interesting collection of players.
Now, Lakers insider Jovan Buha shared that many within the organization acknowledged they might have taken a step back this summer . They said this was about the longer-term vision.
The Lakers certainly made an effort to get younger to the point that the 30-year-old Looney is their oldest player. He is the only one on that roster in his 30s. Looney is also the only Laker who has actually won an NBA championship. This isn’t really a group that knows what it takes to get across the finish line.
Despite this, the Lakers are optimistic about the offensive upside of this roster . With Doncic and Reaves leading the way, this should be one of the best offensive teams in the NBA next season.
The question, though, is how good can they be defensively? Kessler is a quality defensive anchor, but he is likely to be the only high-level defender in the starting lineup. The Lakers might bring in Jonathan Kuminga as well to be a starter, but he isn’t going to transform them defensively.
So, there are definitely some legitimate concerns here. That said, you can point them out for most teams in the West. The San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder are really the only great teams in the Conference. The Spurs and Thunder will probably be the top two in the West yet again, but the rest of the confirmed playoff spots are very much up for grabs.
Provided the Lakers are relatively healthy, they should be the fourth or fifth seed in the West. You might argue that the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets are better, but that’s about it.
The Lakers don’t have a championship roster, but this isn’t a play-in roster either. Now, Andrews isn’t the first to have said this, though.
Former NBA player Olden Polynice has also said the Lakers are a play-in team . Polynice was far harsher than Andrews, as he had them finishing 10th in the West. It would take a ridiculous injury crisis for them to slip that far down.
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