Woof. That Lakers schedule is brutal. Think it's going to be Pels-9th seed and Spurs-10th seed with the Lakers giving their pick to NO. I know the Lakers won a ring and that trumps all, but the AD deal is looking better and better for the Pels. They turned the players they acquired from LA into Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas, Herb Jones, Jaxson Hayes, Devonte Graham, Larry Nance Jr. and Trey Murphy. NOLA receives this year's first-round pick if it falls in the Top 10, and have the right to swap first-round picks with the Lakers in 2023. Further, they get to pick either the 2024 or 2025 pick, depending on which one looks better. Basically, the worse the Lakers perform in the future, the better life gets for the Pels. That's not to mention Zion or the haul they got from the Bucks for Jru Holiday. Malik Monk, Austin Reaves and Talen Horton-Tucker are the only players under 30 in the Lakers' rotation. It's going to be a difficult situation in LA.