The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to be a title contender as they entered the playoffs last year. After finishing as the three seed, they looked like they had put it all together.<\/p>\n
After the Lakers got Luka Doncic in the trade with the Mavericks, their offense was fantastic and one of the best in the league. Defense ended up being the issue.<\/p>\n
Minnesota sliced up the Lakers’ defense and took them down in just five games. Despite that performance, an NBA executive believes they will make a deep run next year.<\/p>\n
More news: <\/strong>Lakers News: NBA Insider Weighs In on Rui Hachimura\u2019s Long Term Future in LA<\/a><\/p>\n According to Lakers Daily<\/a>, one executive loves the Lakers’ chances to make it deep in the playoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were the third seed last year and did that without a starting-level center. They definitely got better by adding Ayton and Smart. I can see them making the conference finals. You can never count out LeBron [James]. I don\u2019t care how old he is. He\u2019s still amazing offensively. And everyone keeps talking about how great Luka [Doncic] looks after his weight loss. He\u2019s probably hungry to win it all next season.\u201d<\/p>\n Adding Ayton certainly helps the center spot be better, but he still has some issues of his own. There’s a reason that the Trail Blazers paid him to go away.<\/p>\n Smart has not been healthy over the last few years, so if they get anything from him, it would be a bonus. Relying on those two to be huge pieces is a gamble.<\/p>\n