Lakers' young guns look promising already

The dominos are slowly falling, one after another, and the Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of what could very well be a breakout year. The main reason of this optimistic forecast is the emergence of young talent in Luke Walton’s team.

Before the NBA Draft even begun the Lakers were already one of the most talented teams in the Western Conference, they still have a long way go before they compete with the big shots of the region, like the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs, but they could very well be in play for the eighth seed if all the right stars align. 

Even after trading D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets the Lakers are still loaded with lots of potential all-star players. From that polarizing exchange of players the Purple and Gold got a late first round draft pick that they converted in Summer League Finals MVP Kyle Kuzma, who is already considered a draft steal. 

But the draft pick that caught everyone’s eye was Lonzo Ball, the UCLA product was the second player off the board and it has been a match made in Hollywood. Ball won the Summer League MVP as he took his teammates to a whole new level of play. His precise passes tore rival defenses apart and got his shooting going late in the tournament after a horrible exhibition in the first game, as he shot 2-15 from the floor.  

To complement Ball’s skill set the Lakers have Brandon Ingram, who was the team’s first round pick last season. Big things are expected from the Duke product. The numbers were modest in Ingram’s first season, but a huge bump is in line. With Nick Young and Lou Williams removed from the roster Ingram will have to absorb much of the scoring responsibilities. 

Even with all these young and upcoming players the NBA title odds for the Lakers aren´t very enticing as you can see here williamhill.com, but hey it could be worse, at least they are considered a middle of the pack team. But if it’s Rookie of the Year odds we are taking about, Lonzo Ball is the favorite to be the winner of the award, with Ben Simmons in second place and a surprising Dennis Smith Jr. in third. 

The rest of the Lakers young core is formed by Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Ivica Zubac, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant. There is no doubt, win or lose, the Lakers will be fun to watch this season, and just maybe they can make a heroic playoff run. We’ll wait and see.