The Lakers don’t currently have a championship-worthy roster. That may be an opinion and not a statement of fact, but based on the newness of the team, the recent injury history of the two best players, and the fit issues with Russell Westbrook, it’s an opinion espoused by many.
With LeBron James on the team, anything short of contention is a failure, especially at this point in his career when he has limited years remaining. As a result, the front office still has work to do to get the Lakers to that upper tier in the NBA hierarchy, and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said Monday at media day that the franchise will do whatever it takes to improve the roster not just because the organization wants to compete, but because LeBron deserves it:
“Let me be abundantly clear.