This season’s picture has drastically changed for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Their shocking acquisition of Luka Doncic not only put them in the ‘contenders’ conversation this season but also for years to come.
Nevertheless, as better as they might be upon Doncic’s arrival, Kendrick Perkins still believes they’re not ready to go for all the marbles.
Talking on ESPN, the former NBA champion claimed that this team’s ceiling was a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
“I believe that their ceiling is the conference finals.” @KendrickPerkins weighs in on the Lakers’ ability to make a deep playoff run. 👀 pic.twitter.com/TFXJnctsE3
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 18, 2025
He cited their lack of depth in the restricted area as the reason why he doesn’t think they’re championship-bound just yet.
The Lakers only have Jaxson Hayes and Alex Len at the center position right now, and the botched Mark Williams trade was a big blow to their aspirations.
Even so, the picture is still encouraging for the future.
Perkins thinks that having Doncic there will help LeBron James extend his career much further.
He claimed that James was fully invested in the organization right now, and adding Doncic is going to take plenty of pressure off his shoulders.
Not even the most optimistic Lakers fan thought they would pull off a move like this.
While they’ve always drawn the best players to Hollywood, no one thought the Dallas Mavericks would even slightly consider trading Luka Doncic, much less to a team that wasn’t in a position to give them four or five first-round picks.
Who knows? Maybe one day, the Lakers will retire Nico Harrison’s jersey or even build him a statue outside Crypto.com Arena.
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