Lakers Rumors: Three Steps to Build an Instant Contender
By Jason Reed
The Results
Overall, putting together this fantasy lineup for the Lakers was fun, and to test how the team would fare we underwent an NBA 2K17 season simulation. With the starting five that the Lakers have, they saw a huge improvement from years prior. With Lonzo Ball, D’Angelo Russell, Gordon Hayward, Julius Randle, and Ivica Zubac all sharing the court the Lakers were very efficient.
First and foremost, Lonzo Ball had won the Rookie of the Year award by averaging 15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. While that may be stretching his abilities, especially in the first season, Lakers fans would love to see that out of Ball.
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Overall, the team reached their first postseason since 2013 with a 43-39 record. While it is not the most impressive record to have, it is still and improvement by almost 20 games and slots them from second to last in the Western Conference to the seventh seed.
The team fell to the second-seeded Houston Rockets in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, but still took a step in the right direction.
If the Lakers can turn from a lottery team into a seventh seed in only one offseason that would be considered a huge win for the franchise. This lead to the team not only contending for the title now but in the future as well.
Next: Trade Packages for D'Angelo Russell
Overall, although this article is filled with optimism that the Lakers can pull off the impossible, it is still safe to think that at least one of these Lakers rumors will come to fruition.