Examining The Lakers Present and Future (Is "2027" Really the Plan?)

The Lakers' offseason has been, relative to realistic expectations (and frankly, most observers' lack of confidence in Lakers' President of Basketball Operations/GM Rob Pelinka), pretty successful. Upgrades have been made. Assets have been retained. Options remain fairly narrow, but still far from exhausted. But at minimum, the roster is better than it left off after getting eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the playoffs, and that's a solid foundation for a 50-win team to build on, even if front-running contention status remains a ways off.

So why does it seem like a cloud of uncertainty hangs over these Lakers? Because certainty on a few fronts (Luka's extension, LeBron's short and long-term future with the team, and some lingering roster imbalances among them) creates as many questions as there are otherwise legitimate reasons for guarded optimism about the team's prospects for 2025-26.

To break down many of these questions, Andy is joined by Jovan Buha (Buha's Block podcast), who has covered the Lakers for several years and is as dialed in as anybody when it comes to reporting on the squad.

Hosts: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

Segment 1: State of the offseason

Segment 2: 2027-Gate.

Segment 3: LeBron, Luka and more.

 

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