Lakers projected by NBA GMs as most improved team next season

LeBron James, Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers underwent much change to their roster over the offseason that was headlined by the addition of star forward LeBron James.

This has trust forth some huge expectations and excitement around the team with James leading the charge. With that in mind, an annual survey of the general managers around the league conducted by John Schuhmann of NBA.com saw them overwhelmingly vote for the Lakers as being the team that experiences the most improvement next season.

Lakers projected by NBA GMs as most improved team next season

Los Angeles has added a game-changing talent in James that has shown he can change the fortunes of the franchise with his play. He has been arguably the best player in the league over the last several years that has seen him lead him to the NBA Finals in each of the past eight seasons.

Entering his 16th year in the league, James is still playing at an MVP-caliber level on the court after averaging 27.5 points on 54.2 percent shooting from the floor along with a career-best 9.1 assists and 8.6 rebound. He had also notched a league-best 2,251 points scored last year while he took that to the next level in the playoffs notching 40 or more points eight times during the playoffs that tied Hall of Famer Jerry West for the all-time mark in a single postseason trip.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have in place a young core group that should be in line to take the next step in their development on the court next to James as key contributor. The likes of Brandon Ingram, Kyle, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball have chances to prove themselves to long-term pieces of the puzzle while helping push the team back to the playoffs and possibly further. Nonetheless, this poll of the general manager shows that there is an expectation around the league that the Lakers will experience vast improvement this upcoming season.

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