The Los Angeles Lakers are considered strong favorites to repeat as champions after a successful offseason.
Dennis Schroder, Wesley Matthews. Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol are clear upgrades from a talent standpoint and should give the Lakers more versatility and offensive firepower during the 2020-21 season.
Each player brings edge and physicality, something vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka wanted to double down on after seeing Los Angeles storm through the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
However, the team could be even better depending on how Kyle Kuzma improves. Kuzma showed he has what it takes to be trusted in high-leverage postseason games, and that kind of experience should help him heading into next season.