NBA (DR)
As LeBron James approaches his forties and the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the future of the Californians looks very bleak.
A renowned journalist did not hesitate to drive home the point regarding the Chosen One gang, citing in particular the case of Victor Wembanyama.
Difficult to project yourself to the Lakers at the moment. title ambitions were dampened in 2023-24 by an exit in the first round, against the Nuggets.
Before that, the regular season had already been disappointing despite a healthy LeBron James -Anthony Davis duo.
On top of that, the franchise is still looking for a new coach after dismissing the very controversial Darvin Ham from his position.
If a few avenues are being studied at the moment to find his successor, the fact remains that the Purples and Golds sites are much more numerous.
They still rely as much on an aging LeBron and even if AD is called upon to take over, it might not be enough in a particularly tough Western Conference. Journalist Bill Simmons illustrated it with blunt words on his podcast:
The sulphurous Bill Simmons mercilessly with the Lakers
The Lakers are finished, dammit. We have to stop with this. It’s over for them. They are in the same conference as Minnesota, Dallas, OKC and Wembanyama.
You guys are screwed. It’s over if you’re not one of these four teams in the West. They can hire Kurt Rambis’ wife for all they can, because they won’t get anywhere.
Hire a f***ing actor, hire Jon Hamm. They should hire JJ Redick. Hire the son of Jack Nicholson (legendary Lakers fan, editor’s note), it won’t change anything.
They will already be happy to be a No. 7 seed. It’s ridiculous. “Oh, we’ll see, it’s AD’s team now.” » AD, welcome back to Play-In. Because that’s what awaits you.
The three teams mentioned by Simmons have actually made a splash this season, with Dallas and the Timberwolves even making it to the conference finals.
Besides that, the future of San Antonio looks bright once the squad around prodigy Victor Wembanyama has been improved.
That being said, we may be surprised by the absence of the Nuggets, certainly eliminated in the second round but who remain the reigning champions.
Did he really leave Denver behind for the Spurs with a 22-60 record?
Whatever the Lakers do this summer, it won’t change anything in Bill Simmons’ eyes. Young franchises like the Mavericks, the Thunder or the Timberwolves are already showing that they can dominate the Western Conference, while waiting for Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs. For the journalist, the Purples and Golds cannot keep up.
