National Basketball Association

Why Skip Bayless believes in LeBron James and the Lakers next season

Published Jul. 7, 2023 4:16 p.m. ET

The Los Angeles Lakers are widely considered one of the winners of 2023 NBA free agency, and it's easy to see why after they brought back several key players who were responsible for last season's late surge. Even Skip Bayless is impressed by what LeBron James and the Lakers have done in recent months, believing they have an excellent chance of adding to their trophy cabinets next season.

"I definitely give the Lakers a legit shot of winning it all next season," Bayless said on the latest episode of "The Skip Bayless Show." "I can make a case they won free agency. … I stand by what I said at last year's trade deadline, [Lakers general manager] Rob Pelinka deserved to be Executive of the Year for what he threw together after he miraculously was able to get [rid of] Russell Westbrook, who I thought they were stuck with."

Skip says LeBron has a 'legit shot' at winning title No. 5 next season

The Lakers had the NBA's second-best record (18-8) in the final 26 games of the regular season after their roster underwent a much-needed transformation at the trade deadline. The team then embarked on a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

Pelinka and the Lakers' front office brought back several role players who were key to that run alongside James and Anthony Davis, picking up a team option on Jarred Vanderbilt's contract and re-signing playoff standouts Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves. The Lakers have also reportedly agreed to a two-year, $37 million contract with former No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell, who the team brought back to replace Westbrook at last season's trade deadline.

"Last season's team as is, if it could have clicked a little bit faster under its rookie head coach Darvin Ham, that team could have easily won it all," Bayless said. "I think LeBron James knows this. Obviously, next season's team will have a huge advantage because it will have a full training camp — heck, a full season — to figure each other out. And Darvin Ham now has a full season under his belt to figure out which buttons worked and which buttons he pushed gave him nothing. Obviously, the Russell Westbrook cloud won't be hanging over this team for two-thirds of the regular season like it was last year."

Though the Lakers did see other role players depart in free agency such as Lonnie Walker, Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder and Mo Bamba, the team has added young center Jaxson Hayes, athletic wings Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish, as well as combo guard Gabe Vincent, whose hot shooting in last year's playoffs helped power the eighth-seeded Miami Heat's shocking run to the NBA Finals.

Additionally, the Lakers reportedly plan to give Reaves a bigger role in their offense after the former second-round pick excelled during the postseason, something Bayless also applauds.

"I've never seen a player improve so much from college to the pros than Austin Reaves" — Skip Bayless

"In all my time of watching and studying the NBA, I have never, ever seen a player improve so much from college basketball to pro basketball the way Austin Reaves had right before our very eyes," Bayless said. "[He was] the Lakers' best player in last year's playoffs — their best player easily in the conference finals against Denver."

And despite admitting that he's not the biggest LeBron fan, Bayless does expect big things from James in the 38-year-old superstar's 21st NBA season, especially now that James has achieved the milestone of breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA all-time scoring record.

"I fully expect LeBron to be very good next year, better than last year," Bayless said. "He's passed Kareem now, he can just concentrate on winning basketball games instead of scoring 40 points per night. … LeBron would have already won his fifth championship if the Lakers had been able to close a couple of those games against Denver."

James publicly flirted with retirement after the Lakers' playoff elimination but is widely expected to play next year before exploring the possibility of playing alongside his son, Bronny James, the current USC Trojans guard who will be NBA Draft-eligible in 2024.

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