Most people consider the Los Angeles Lakers legitimate championship contenders this season after a flurry of moves they have made over the past nine months.
They started by trading for Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt. They continued their fine work in July by extending Hachimura, Russell, Vanderbilt, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis. Los Angeles also brought in free agents Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Christian Wood and Cam Reddish for depth.
Many believe the Lakers had an excellent offseason. However, executives around the league aren’t feeling the same optimism the team has regarding its title hopes.
In an annual survey of NBA general managers, none of them — that’s right, zero — picked the Lakers to win the world championship. They did get the third-most votes as far as who would win the Western Conference, but they only received 3% the of first-place votes.
It was reminiscent of the annual survey prior to the 2019-20 season, when only 7% of GMs said the Lakers would win it all. Of course, the Purple and Gold ended up claiming the Larry O’Brien Trophy that season.