lakersin4 wrote:HartfordWhalers wrote:lakersin4 wrote:Top 5 pick + Randle & Kobe back + 2 mid tier FA's (possibly Matthews & a PG or C depending on who they draft) + Houston's pick in the 20's + a few Ed Davis/Nick Young level FA's that they've been getting for minimum along with the few pieces that carry over like Crawford & Young should be more than enough to put the pick in the teens. They don't actually need to pass 7+ teams in the standings considering they're losing on purpose to keep their pick & many of those teams are trying to win. Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Utah, Denver, Sac are 6 bad teams this year that they should pass next year. Not to mention teams like Brooklyn & Phoenix looking like they're heading for a rebuild, Duncan & Dirk possibly being on their way out, the potential for Marc leaving Memphis sending them into tank mode. To say that it's more likely a Lakers team that uses their cap space ends up with pick 4-6 than 10+ is assuming a lot of things go wrong for LA & right for a lot of other teams.
They play in the West. So they're handicapped five games right from the get-go. I like Randle, but he's coming back from an injury. More likely than not he'll be rusty for half a season like Noel. And Kobe? Do you really think he's got anything left. I think it's possible the Lakers will be in the 10-12 range, but more likely closer to five.