Some may be sad about not getting LA's pick, but stay strong boys because LA is not getting better by next season.

First, we need to look at who the Lakers were this season. LA posted the WORST Net Rating in the entire NBA and by a solid margin. They actually over performed this year in winning 26 games, they have the statistical profile of a 22 win team. Much of this was thanks to a hot 10-10 start to the season. After that, they played at the pace of a 21 win team. Once things settled down, the Lakers played worse than anyone in the NBA. At least Brooklyn can say they only got 36 games of Jeremy Linn this year, arguably their best player, and he was stuck playing low minutes.

Furthermore, let's address where the little bit of success the Lakers had came from. LA got career years out of both Nick Young and Lou Williams, both of whom will not be on the team next year(Lou is already gone). These two were 3rd and 1st on the team in RPM respectively with Williams coming in as the NBA's 5th best SG and Young at 16. Without these two players on the court, LA played at the rate of a 7 win team! I personally find this to be the biggest takeaway here. That's just unbelievable, and an impending reality. They were the whole team, LA played like a 49 win team with the two of them on the court. That's how important these two guys were to their success, and neither will be there next year.

Simply put, going into this offseason LA is the worse team in the NBA by a long shot.

Now let's look at how the Lakers are supposed to improve.

Following the draft, their #2 and #28 picks will total ~$6.5mil in salary. With the cap at a projected $102mil, LA will only have ~$20mil in cap space and the days of that being worth much are long gone. They can in no way afford a max or even a real big name free agent, and at best can add two or three mediocre/poor vets off the bench. There is no way to magically improve in the realm of free agency really, and with Ball, Clarkson, Russell, Ingram, Randle, and Nance occupying the 1-4 and Magic's commitment to letting the young guys play, I don't see him rushing to spend cash anyway and tie up future cap space.

LA will not improve much, if at all, via free agency.

Next is the addition of Ball as a rookie, but how much of an impact do rookies ever really have? PG is the most loaded position in the NBA and PGs take time to adjust to the NBA game. Most rookies don't have a positive impact, how much better do you think Ball will really make LA? As I've pointed out throughout the year, and now the real writers at LB themselves have looked at, he struggles to create much of anything in the half court at this point, and I don't see him being much of a defensive presence either. The elite athletes that are NBA PGs will punish a rookie Lonzo Ball just like Fox did in the tournament, and given all the shit his dad's talked I'd bet they're going to be gunning for him. He'll also be stuck in a backcourt logjam with Russell and Clarkson. Obviously Ball is the guy they're going to go with, but the three guards will be fighting for minutes and who knows if they're compatible?

Maybe he'll be a superstar down the road, but don't expect any big team improvement out of the Lakers because of Lonzo Ball next season.

Another argument people bring up is the development of their young talent. This is a valid argument as I expect Ingram to definitely develop a bit, and I think Russell and Randle still have a bit more room for growth. That being said, I don't think anyone expects them to become stars next year. Looking at their RPMs, Ingram was the second worst SF in the NBA, Russell was 42nd among PGs, and Randle was 71st among PFs. Even if they improve, they'll probably still rate as poor/horrible players.

Will the combination of FAs, Lonzo Ball, and natural progression of players currently on the roster make up for the losses of Lou Williams and Nick Young? Probably not honestly. As explained earlier, the value these guys brought to the table was unbelievable, the team was 42 wins better with them both on the court compared to when they were both off of it. I don't see any real way to make up for that kind of production.

Let's be extremely generous and say that they do somehow make up for just straight up losing these two guys, they're just back to the status quo then. The analytical profile of the worst team in the NBA. Even if they were to improve, how much better would they get?

I'd put money on LA being one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA next year, if not in the bottom 3 again.

The only threat is the possibility of a Paul George trade.

That being said, if LA were to make such a trade it would require them to get rid of the #2 pick, Ingram, and extra young pieces as well. I personally don't see the team scrapping their whole young core for a player they can sign in FA.

Even if George were added, the team would be in shambles around him. With Myles Turner, Jeff Teague, and Thaddeus Young the Pacers were barely a 42 win team. After this trade, LA would be left surrounding him with the likes of Clarkson and maybe Randle. They would still be far from a playoff team in the West and probably in the 5-10 range of the lottery. If Indiana holds out until the deadline to move George, which is very possible and more likely than an offseason move I'd assume, LA will already be in the pits by the time they get him.

Stand strong boys, the Lakers aren't going anywhere next year.