The 2026-27 offseason has seen major shakeups in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. LeBron James took a massive paycut to form what many consider a superteam in Philadelphia. Elsewhere, his former team, thr Miami Heat, saw two-time MVP and former DPOY Giannis Antetokounmpo join their ranks. There was even buzz up north with Kawhi Leonard returning to the Toronto Raptors.
The offseason has been quite happening in the West too, albeit for different reasons. LaMelo Ball left Charlotte to join Anthony Edwards in Minnesota. More recently, after months of unease among fans, Stephen Curry ultimately re-signed with the Warriors while leaving $20 million on the table. However, amid all this hubbub in the league, the moves made by the Los Angeles Lakers early in the offseason went largely unnoticed.
However, they did make some substantial changes to their roster with all the money that was freed up by LeBron James’ departure. They added big men Sandro Mamukelashvili and Walker Kessler, while letting go of DeAndre Ayton. Major role players Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard left the team but guards Quentin Grimes and Colin Sexton replaced them. They also signed Austin Reaves to a 4-year deal.
Safe to say they got busy in the offseason. However, a former player who won a lot with the Purple and Gold isn’t convinced by their moves in the offseason.
Byron Scott believes the Lakers still lag behind the Spurs and the OKC Thunder
Byron Scott knows exactly what it takes to compete at the highest level in the West. The former Lakers guard was part of three championship teams during the Showtime era and believes the current roster still has plenty of ground to make up.
“I think the (offseason) moves they made are OK. It’s nothing that’s going to get them to the level where they need to be, as far as in that Western Conference. There are two studs in the Western Conference, and that’s OKC and San Antonio. The Lakers are not even close to those two teams right now.”
Scott’s assessment puts the Lakers well behind the two teams he considers the clear frontrunners in the conference. While Los Angeles made several moves to reshape the roster around Luka Dončić, Scott does not believe those additions have closed the gap.
Afterall, the San Antonio Spurs are led by the player many believe will be the greatest ever when he ends his career. Namely, Victor Wembanyama who eliminated the former champions from the Playoffs last year. Moreover, the Spurs have surrounded him with a lot of help and that was very evident in their run to the NBA Finals last year. Despite not getting the job done, it was a warning to the league that Wemby had arrived and the only place to go from there was up.
Similarly, back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also has a roster of champions around him. Even though they crashed out during the Western Conference Finals last year, the Thunder are still less than two years removed from a championship, Moreover, much of that roster still remains intact.
So, Scott’s assessment may not be wrong or even off-base here. However, it wasn’t just last season’s Western Conference Finalists that concerned the former Showtime Laker.
Scott on the Western Conference’s landscape
The former Lakers champion also pointed toward several other teams that could make life difficult for Los Angeles. Minnesota added LaMelo Ball to a roster already led by Anthony Edwards, while Denver remains a contender with Nikola Jokic, a 3x MVP. Houston, meanwhile, continues to emerge as one of the West’s younger teams with Kevin Durant adding championship experience to their ranks.
“I thought Minnesota got better this summer with LaMelo [Ball] coming to the team along with the Ant-Man [Anthony Edwards]. And Denver is always going to be a threat when you have [Nikola] Jokic, who is probably the best player in the league. And I didn’t even mention Houston, which is another young, up-and-coming team.
“I don’t know if (the Lakers) get into that upper echelon of the top four. The moves they made helped them on the offensive end. I don’t know how much they helped them on the defensive end.”
For the Lakers, the pressure will now be on Luka Dončić and the rest of the roster to prove Scott wrong. Despite stars like LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard departing it, the Western Conference remains a shark infested pool of contenders. Even more so with players like Victor Wembanyama leaving their mark on the championship stage last year. JJ Redick and Doncic face an uphill task if the goal is returning to the winning days of the Showtime Lakers.
Byron Scott Says Lakers Are ‘Not Close’ to Thunder, Spurs