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Los Angeles Lakers: 3 bold predictions for the 2021-22 season

By Orestis Rantis

PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 06: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers speak during a time out in the second half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on December 06, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Lakers won 136-113. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 06: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers speak during a time out in the second half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on December 06, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Lakers won 136-113. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers
Lakers Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images /

If you want to take a peek at one of the biggest offseason shake-ups in the history of the NBA, then look no further than the Los Angeles Lakers, who underwent full-body plastic surgery to improve their team and compete for the title once again.

To put things into a better perspective, the only active Lakers that were a part of last year’s squad are LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Talen Horton-Tucker. For obvious reasons, the organization was a bit more hesitant to part ways with these guys in the summer.

Some familiar faces are making their return to The City of Angels. Recent Lakers Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard are back with the squad after spending a year away from LA. Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore are all former Lakers that will get to wear the purple-and-gold once again in 2021-22.

Apart from these guys–as if they weren’t enough–the Los Angeles Lakers further boosted their squad depth by adding scoring in Carmelo Anthony, Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn to top off an extremely talented group of guys.

However significant these moves may appear, they don’t stand a chance in front of the insane trade the Los Angeles Lakers pulled through. Russell Westbrook is coming back to his hometown, this time to play for the Lakers and not UCLA.

Having an extremely talented squad can get you very far, and these Los Angeles Lakers are definitely in it to win it during 2021-22.

It’s fair to say that the talent is definitely present. Despite age being the obvious X factor, that many talented players rarely co-exist on the same team. The question is, will they all glue together, and if yes, how fast?

For the first time in God knows how many years, the Eastern Conference might be looking scarier than the Western Conference. LeBron and co. could benefit from said imbalance to climb atop the standings faster than expected and establish themselves for a long playoff run.

When almost the entire roster of a team gets shaken up, things get much harder to predict. However, the presence of a basketball genius like LeBron James can and will make things much easier for Frank Vogel this season.

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