The Los Angeles Lakers Futures Odds (BetDSI Sportsbook)
Los Angeles Lakers to win the Pacific Division: +6600
Los Angeles Lakers to win the Western Conference: +12500
Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA Championship: +20000
Los Angeles Lakers Season Total Win Prediction: Total 32.5 (Over -115, Under -115)
The Los Angeles Lakers recorded miserable 26 wins in 2016/17, and only the Phoenix Suns had a fewer number of victories in the West. They are still not good enough to reach the playoffs, but at least, the Lakers should win more games this time around, especially after acquiring Brook Lopez from the Brooklyn Nets.
Los Angeles lacked quality big guy since Dwight Howard’s departure, and Lopez will be the leader of this team, and with some exciting talents on the roster, including the rookie Lonzo Ball, the Lakers could be a quite dangerous team. The Golden State Warriors are the biggest favorites to clinch the Pacific Division, and the Lakers are virtually without a chance to compete for the divisional title, but they could try to take down the city rivals, the Clippers, who are a lot weaker than in 2016/17.
Lopez, Ball, and new arrival, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will run the floor for Los Angeles, while the veterans Luol Deng and Corey Brewer can bring stability and much-needed experience. This season will be definitely better than the last one, and the fans are hoping to finish above the Clippers in the standings.
Read on to find out more about the Los Angeles Lakers offseason moves and the 2017/2018 futures and props brought to you by BetDSI Sportsbook. Also, don’t forget to visit our Get More Sports website for more NBA teams season previews.
The 2017/2018 Los Angeles Lakers Roster
Arrivals: Lonzo Ball, V.J. Beachem, Vander Blue, Thomas Bryant, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez, Briante Weber, Stephen Zimmerman.
Departures: Tarik Black, David Nwaba, Metta World Peace, Nick Young, D’Angelo Russell, Timofey Mozgov, Thomas Robinson.
At the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, and he signed a four-year contract in July. One of the most exciting college players, Ball spent the previous season at UCLA, averaging 14.6 ppg, 7.6 apg, 6.0 rpg, and 1.8 spg in 35.1 mpg. Thanks to the solid display, Ball was selected into the Consensus first-team All-American, First-team All-Pac-12, was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, led the NCAA in assists, and won the Wayman Tisdale Award. All these honors significate that the 19-year-old has a bright future in the NBA and it will be interesting to see him in tandem with Brook Lopez. Ball will go straight into the starting lineup, where he doesn’t have a fierce competition for the point guard spot, with Tyler Ennis and Briante Webber behind him in the depth chart.
The Lakers selected Tony Bradley as the 28th pick but traded his draft right to the Utah Jazz, and the center will begin his NBA career in Salt Lake City. Los Angeles also signed several rookies this offseason, but not all of them will play in the NBA as Alex Caruso will spend the season with the Lakers G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. The small forward V.J. Beachem joined after four years with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but he is not expected to get significant playing time as Brandon Ingram, Luol Deng, and Corey Brewer are all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Vander Blue returned to the Lakers after an impressive 2016/17 season with the Los Angeles D-Fenders, averaging 24.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.0 apg, and a team-high 1.6 spg in 47 games, earning the MVP award, which was a great recommendation for the Lakers to bring him back. The shooting guard will have a lot of problems to break into the team, though, because Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jordan Clarkson are way ahead of him for the position. Thomas Bryant and Josh Hart were traded from Utah Jazz for Tony Bradley, and Bryant joined from the University of Indiana, where he averaged 12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, and 1.5 bpg in 35 matches in 2016/17. The center will battle with IvicaZubac for the No. 2 spot as Brook Lopez has his starting position guaranteed. Josh Hart played excellently for Villanova in the last couple of seasons and won the NCAA Championship back in 2016. He also won the Julius Erving Award and Robert V. Geasey Trophy in 2017, and the 22-year-old shooting guard will serve as cover for Caldwell Pope and Clarkson.
Kyle Kuzma was a part of the Brook Lopez Trade after the Brooklyn Nets selected him with the No. 27 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The power forward had a great year at the University of Utah, averaging 16.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg, and 2.4 apg in 30.8 mpg, and will compete with Larry Nance Jr. for the place behind Julius Randle. Briante Weber signed a deal with the Lakers in August after spending the previous season with the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets but managed to record only 20 appearances in total. He is listed as the third point guard on the roster, behind Lonzo Ball and Tyler Ennis. Stephen Zimmerman joined from the Orlando Magic, but the center will probably not get enough minutes this season and could be sent to the G-League.
Following his four-year stint with the Detroit Pistons, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope penned a one-year contract with the Lakers and will present a significant reinforcement in both offense and defense. KCP appeared in 76 games for Detroit last year, averaging 13.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, and 1.2 spg in 33.3 mpg and he will be the new starting shooting guard at Staples Center, while Jordan Clarkson will serve as his deputy.
However, the player who should shake the things up in L.A. is certainly Brook Lopez, who switched the East for West after nine years with the Brooklyn Nets. The All-Star center is a dominant force in the attack, and while he is not a good defender, Lopez will surely add much-needed quality to the paint. He averaged 20.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, and 1.7 bpg in 75 matches for the Nets in 2016/17. The 29-year-old still has a few good years ahead of him, and I am sure he will be a success in Los Angeles and should average at least 20 points per game in the upcoming campaign.
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| Lonzo Ball | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Brandon Ingram | Julius Randle | Brook Lopez |
| Tyler Ennis | Jordan Clarkson | Luol Deng | Larry Nance Jr. | Ivica Zubac |
| Briante Weber | Josh Hart | Corey Brewer | Kyle Kuzma | Thomas Bryant |
The Lakers lost D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to Brooklyn in a Lopez’s trade, but it seems that they got a better deal as Russell and Ball couldn’t play together at point guard position and one of them had to go, so the Lakers decided to ship out Russell. D’Angelo spent the previous two years at Staples Center, and in 2016/17, he averaged 15.6 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.5 rpg, and 1.4 spg in 28.7 mpg, and the 21-year-old is still improving, so I am sure he will play a huge role at Brooklyn. Mozgov wasn’t influential for the Lakers as Russell, but still, his experience benefited the team. The Russian center averaged 7.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg in 54 games last year, and Lopez is undoubtedly an upgrade on a former New York Knick.
Metta World Peace and Thomas Robinson also left the team, and they are currently free agents, while Tarik Black joined the Houston Rockets. David Nwaba is a new Chicago Bulls player, and Nick Young joined the champions Golden State Warriors after decided to quit L.A. He had an important role last season, starting in all 60 games he played in and averaging 13.2 points per contest. However, I believe the Lakers will not miss Young, with KCP and Clarkson in the team to play at shooting guard position.
Brook Lopez and Lonzo Ball will lead the Lakers in 2017/18, but the fans are expecting more from Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram. Luol Deng and Corey Brewer can still help, while Caldwell-Pope should bring more aggressiveness to the defense. Jordan Clarkson will serve as the sixth man, and the 25-year old guard should have another solid campaign.
The Bottom Line and Total Win Prediction
The Lakers have a young and talented team, and they are surely better than the last year, so I think they could even battle for the playoffs if injuries don’t strike their key players such as Lopez and Ball. I definitely believe they will finish higher than the 14th position, as it was the case in 2016/17, and they should collect around 35 wins at least. The BetDSI Sportsbook set the number of wins at 32.5; I am backing the Lakers to go over.
Season total wins: Over 32.5 wins (-115)
