The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most talked about teams in all of the NBA.
With the biggest name in all of basketball in LeBron James paired with superstar teammates Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, the Lakers roster is fittingly star-studded.
The Lakers had a huge overturn in their roster over the offseason.
This has been cause for a lot of the storylines that will follow the team through the entirety of the season.
We will be covering the top three storylines for the Lakers this season.
3. How Will Russell Westbrook Fit In?
Over the offseason, the Lakers made a blockbuster trade that sent Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, the draft right to Isaiah Johnson, and three second-round picks to bring Westbrook onto the roster.
RUSS IS A LAKER ๐ฅ
The Lakers and Wizards have agreed on the trade for Russell Westbrook, sources tell @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/kfhcMGdRsS
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 30, 2021
While the Lakers did not really give up much to trade for Westbrook, he is now the highest-paid player on the Lakers roster.
Although they were able to make it work and fill the roster out with very talented players on minimum contracts, having Westbrook, James, and Davis on the team has left little to no cap space to bring in players who are not willing to sign on minimum contracts.
With this much invested into Westbrook by the Lakers in terms of salary and cap space, he must show up and play well this season.
There have been questions about spacing issues that may be caused with Westbrook on the team.
The Lakers’ big three of James, Davis, and Westbrook while extraordinarily talented, is very lacking in shooting.
However, the Lakers brought in a plethora of players on minimum contracts to help the team’s shooting concerns.
At the end of the day, Westbrook will be under the sharpest microscope of his career.
He must be able to step up to the plate and play at an elite level or he will end up being torn apart by the media and a culprit of why the Lakers may end up falling short of their goals of a championship.
2. Are They Too Old To Compete?
A second storyline heading into this season is that the Lakers are too old to compete.
The Lakers have 6 of the 12 oldest players in the NBA…
Is this the Lakers team or a retirement home ๐ pic.twitter.com/UVdy2uIBzk
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) September 3, 2021
While it is true that a majority of their roster is comprised of players in their mid to late 30s, they are still one of the most talented teams in the league.
Their regular season record may not end up showing this.
However, when the playoffs roll around, they will know the right time to up the intensity.
This is similar to what was said about the 2019-20 Lakers team that ended up taking home a championship.
Along with this, there are a few talented young pieces on the team as well.
Davis is only 28, Talen Horton-Tucker is 20, Kendrick Nunn is 26, Malik Monk is 23, and preseason sensation Austin Reaves is 23.
Despite being one of the oldest teams in the league, age should not be a concern for the Lakers.
1. Can They Stay Healthy And Bring Home A Championship?
Injuries absolutely killed the Lakers last season.
James and Davis spent a good chunk of the regular season on the sidelines.
This gave the team little time to find on-court chemistry and it showed.
Along with this, once Davis was ruled out of the first-round series due to injury, the Lakers had little shot of taking down the second-seeded Phoenix Suns.
Los Angeles has a very tough road ahead of them to win a ring this season.
In the West, they have the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and Suns to worry about.
In the East, they have the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets to keep an eye out for.
Despite the Lakers being amongst the top of the league in talent, there is a lot of parity in the league right now.
As we saw last year, really anything can happen once the playoffs begin.
However, if the Lakers stay healthy this season, they will have a very good shot of bringing home another championship in the James era.
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