2018-19: Western Conference playoff picture prediction

#4 Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron rocking the Lakers shorts at Summer League

They added the King. Easily it is the biggest signing of free agency and helped propel the Lakers from the lottery-bound post-Kobe era to a potential four seed in the playoffs next year.

This has become a meme team. The additions of Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, JaVale McGee, and Lavar Ball around the corner is going to help improve the publicity of the team. Whether it is good or bad will depend on team performance. LeBron is still the best player in the game, he led a struggling Cavs team to the finals. His playoff play will be seen as one of the greatest single-person playoff performances of All-time.

Now he has talent around him. The problem is that the talent isn't established yet, the team is young and still improving with Kuzma, Ingram, Hart and Ball. All four of those players will improve this coming season to varying amounts.

Brandon Ingram and Kuzma have shown they can be quality scorers in the league, they just require more time, in Ingram's case he may want to look to become stronger too. Lonzo had a good rookie year, it wasn't great and not up to par to what his father had predicted, but averaging 10, 7, and 7 is good for a rookie point guard.

What will the additions of Stephenson, Beasley, and McGee bring? Who knows. It will be interesting to see how they fit with the team. Beasley can score the ball and he provides that scoring off the bench for the second unit. Stephenson has struggled to play on any team that isn't the Pacers, but he will bring intensity which helps motivate the younger players. McGee is a positional need, he's a decent center in the NBA and center is the weakest position on the Lakers roster, so he will add some depth.

Rajon Rondo is the most interesting addition. His basketball IQ is off the charts and brings a high intensity to the game that will challenge Lonzo Ball. Rondo has had trouble getting along with coaches and it is unclear whether he will get along with a perfectionist like player in LeBron James.

Chemistry will be the biggest issue for the Lakers. Magic and LeBron have discussed a 3-year plan, so they may not need to make a big playoff run this year and will wait until next year to try to sign Kawhi Leonard.