After suffering the worst stretch in franchise history, the future is looking bright for the Los Angeles Lakers. After President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka took over midseason, there is great optimism heading into the 2017-18 NBA season.

In one of their first moves, Johnson and Pelinka selected Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft instead of Josh Jackson and De'Aaron Fox. Ball rewarded them at the Las Vegas Summer League as he won the Most Valuable Player award and the championship. While it was only Summer League as *they* say, Ball showcased his skills that will translate over to the NBA.

During the NBA Rookie photo shoot, Ball revealed what his goal is for the upcoming season according to NBA.com:

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Ball has been a winner at every level in his basketball career and the answer is not surprising. While the Western Conference has gotten much stronger this offseason, it will be interesting to see if the young core can make the necessary jump in Year 2 under head coach Luke Walton to at least compete for a playoff spot.

If the Lakers are indeed competitive this upcoming season, they will be in prime position to sign two max contract players like LeBron James and Paul George in next year's free agency. However, they would have to move two out of three players in Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and/or Luol Deng to create the necessary cap space.