After exiting the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to bounce back next season.
Ahead of the new season, the Los Angeles Lakers made headlines several times. First of all, the Bass Family sold the team and marked Walter at a $10 billion valuation.
Additionally, the Lakers have allowed fan-favorite veteran Dorian Finney Smith to sign a four-year deal with the Houston Rockets.
It was Masterstroke who replaced Finney-Smith with Jake Laravia and Deandre Ayton, but ESPN’s Tim Bontemps highlighted the potential side effects of DFS leaving.
Even before becoming teammates with the Lakers, Finney Smith and Luka Donsic shared a bond with the Dallas Mavericks.
Obviously, many were hoping that the Lakers would regain DFS at any cost to make Luka happy. After all, the Slovenian superstar was able to quickly sign a massive contract extension.
With that in mind, Bontemps believes that allowing Finney-Smith to leave at Rockets ruined the Lakers.
“If the Lakers are going to be a team that runs in the Western Conference playoffs, they have a lot of work left. One of Luka’s best friends in the league is Dorian Finney Smith,” Bontemps said in his first take.
“He just left to go to the Western Conference rivals, Houston Rockets, and for me it’s not a big indication that the Lakers are doing what they need.
Certainly, the Western Conference is competitive enough to get it, but the Lakers aren’t filming what comes out of it? Even if Ayton has been added?
Bontemps then spoke to the Lakers landing Ayton for a cheap deal, welcoming him as the second best center in the free agency market after Miles Turner.
“I think Deandre Ayton will help them. He is probably the second best center in the market following Myles Turner this summer.
“…But this team has a lot of holes in the boundary defensively. They have very few defensive talent in the boundary. They still lack the shooting,” continued Bontemps.
So, what is the final verdict? The Bontemps claimed that the Lakers were at best the same as last season.
“They’re players for the players, you just stack up. Yes, they finished third in last year’s Western Conference. Overall, I think they’re either the same or a little bad,” he concluded.
Now, this is a disappointing view of the Lakers, but is Bontemps really likely to be blamed for thinking about it? After all, the Lakers don’t have the huge signatures like their conference rivals.