There are some who have faith in the Los Angeles Lakers this season, but Richard Jefferson is not one of them. Speaking in a segment on NBA Today, the former league swingman said the Lakers are still at least three stars away from being truly competitive in the West.
“We put way too much pressure on LeBron and the Lakers. You look at an incomplete team with an incomplete roster... they don't have enough dogs. The Boston Celtics, the Lakers are three all-star caliber players away from being on their level," said Jefferson. "Three All-Star caliber players, that’s how far the Lakers are away from being on the same tier as the defending champions.”
As part of the 2016 Cavaliers team, Jefferson knows a contender when he sees one. He played side-by-side with LeBron James , Kyrie Irving, and the team that came back to win the Finals against the 73-9 Warriors. He saw first-hand what it took to go all the way and he knows how difficult it is to pull off just once in the span of a single career.
Richard Jefferson has nothing at stake when it comes to this year's Lakers team, but it seems he lacks the confidence to say they can keep up with the Western elites. Even with LeBron James (39) and Anthony Davis, Jefferson doubts that the Lakers have enough to challenge NBA juggernauts like the Mavericks, Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves .
Last season, after finishing 7th in the West, the Lakers lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets in the very first round. The Lakers didn't stand a chance in the series and their failure cost Darvin Ham his job.
Besides replacing their coach, the Lakers didn't do much else to change their situation. They kept the roster mostly intact and were unable to make significant changes besides drafting a pair of rookies, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.
Unless one of them has a historic rookie season, there's no reason to expect the Lakers to be much better than they were a year ago, with a fully healthy season from James and Davis. The only path to improvement before the deadline is via trade, which the Lakers reportedly already have some names in mind .
But with the talent gap so wide, the Lakers will need more than one or two guys to make a difference. Only with truly elite-level, All-Star play will the Lakers dominate in the West, and right now they just don't have enough firepower to keep up with the borderline superteams that currently exist in places like Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Boston.
If the Lakers want to maximize what's left of LeBron's career, they'll need to find a way to upgrade at multiple positions, especially at point guard. With limited assets to spare, GM Rob Pelinka is facing a steep challenge ahead to add talent and it could take time before things come together.
As for the season ahead, expectations are low for the team given what they have. Unless some changes are made before the playoffs, the odds of a serious run are almost nonexistent and the Lakers might just have to make their peace with this campaign being one for player development.
Related: Los Angeles Lakers' Toughest Player Departures In The LeBron James Era
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