Los Angeles Lakers: Three reasons why a title in year one is possible
By Jason Reed
2. The Los Angeles Lakers could potentially have three all-stars
The NBA is an all-star driven league and one of the main reasons for the doubt surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers is the lack of star power surrounding LeBron James. Rajon Rondo is the only other player on the Lakers with an all-star appearance and he is far past his prime.
Thus, on paper, it can seem like LeBron is joining as bad of a situation as he was in with Cleveland and is going to have no help. Obviously, for anyone that pays attention, that is not the case as the Lakers have legitimate talent on the roster.
In fact, it is not entirely far-fetched to think that the team will have at least one other all-star this season and could even have a total of three.
Brandon Ingram seems ready to make that leap and will only benefit from playing alongside James. Ingram is already tracking to surpass 20 points per game and should be good for around 22 points, six rebounds and four assists per game.
That is all-star numbers in every way. The other potential candidate is Kyle Kuzma, who has emerged as the talking head of this young core and perhaps the most purely talented aside from James.
Coming off the bench will hurt Kuzma but even he could tip-toe and even surpass that 20-point per game threshold. If he does, he will easily enter the all-star conversation.
Not only does James have help in a deep, upbeat roster, but he also has two guys that could be legitimate stars by season’s end.