Despite having LeBron James on their roster, the Los Angeles Lakers are being left out in some preseason playoff projections. Having a four-time league MVP just wouldn’t cut it for a number of experts. Even one ESPN projection does not see the Lakers reaching the playoffs.

Had the Lakers added one more superstar, the Lakers would have been a shoo-in playoff team in these experts’ books. Instead, the front office signed the likes of Michael Beasley, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, and Rajon Rondo to aid James in his quest to make the Lakers relevant again — names that give more questions than answers right now for a team that hasn’t had a playoff berth since the 2012-13 season.

When asked by Leo Sepkowitz of Bleacher Report whether he thinks that his new team is playoff bound, Lakers forward Michael Beasley admitted that he’s aware that Los Angeles is being considered by some as a non-playoff squad, but expressed confidence that they are going places in the coming season.

“As of now, we're out, according to all the polls. Rightfully so. But I think we're a team that will be able to decide our own fate by how hard we work and how much we're willing to sacrifice physically and mentally. I'm not going to put my foot in my mouth and say we're going to win 25 championships or 75 games, no. But I'm confident that we got a group of guys that wants to play basketball the right way, wants to win and work hard. With that being said, I think we can be exactly where we want to be at the end of the year.”

Beasley was signed by the Lakers to a one-year, $3.5 million deal back in July after the former No. 2 pick experienced a career rejuvenation in New York. Last season, he averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds and also shot 50.7 percent from the field.