Stephen A. Smith has come out with his latest projection for the Los Angeles Lakers now that the dust has settled on the recently-concluded trade deadline. It's not very good, though, and Stephen A.'s prediction likely isn't going to sit too well with LeBron James.

Smith has no confidence in the Lakers right now whatsoever. So much so, that the renowned ESPN broadcaster strongly believes that the best LA can do this season would be a first-round exit in the playoffs:

“Their ceiling is the playoffs and a first-round exit,” Smith stated. “I don’t see them beating Golden State. They ain’t beating Phoenix. They ain’t beating Memphis. They ain’t beating Utah. Hell, they might have a problem with Dallas for crying out loud.”

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Smith pointed out that the Lakers have one of the most difficult schedules in the league in the coming months. As such, he doesn't believe the Lakers will be able to crawl themselves out of the hole they are currently in. Stephen A. believes that the Lakers would be “lucky” to get past the play-in tournament which means that they would have to face one of the top seeds out West in the first round. As it is, Smith doesn't think LeBron and Co. have what it takes to beat the likes of the Phoenix Suns or the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series.

This does sound like a fair assessment from Smith and barring an unforeseen turn of events, it just feels like LeBron James and the Lakers are going to have an extended summer vacation ahead. Again.