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The Los Angeles Lakers season officially came to an end on Wednesday night, as they suffered a 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round series with the Timberwolves clinching a 4-1 series victory. After the loss, Shaq took aim at Los Angeles, and he issued an eye-opening prediction for their upcoming offseason that will worry Lakers fans everywhere.
LA took a big swing ahead of the trade deadline when they pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic. At first, the deal seemed like a huge win for the Lakers, but this playoff series against the Timberwolves proved that the team's roster still has a lot of holes.
Shaq isn't optimistic that the team is going to drastically change their fortunes this offseason, as he thinks they already made their big move.
“They're gonna be like this for a while,” O'Neal said on “Inside The NBA.” “They're not gonna make any moves this summer.”
Shaq issues worrying prediction for Lakers' upcoming offseason
While there are reasons to be excited for what the future holds in Los Angeles, this quick playoff exit against the Timberwolves proves that they aren't as close to contending for a championship as they initially thought.
While there are ways for them to improve, Shaq doesn't think fans should get their hopes up, as he believes that the Lakers will be stuck in this same spot for the next few seasons.
LA now enters an important offseason, and there are some big questions that will need to be answered over the upcoming months. The biggest of them all is the future of LeBron James, who deflected retirement questions in the immediate aftermath of this game.
But even if he opts to return next season, the front office needs to figure out a way to round out this roster. Shaq clearly isn't optimistic things will work out for the Lakers, and time will tell whether or not his stance is correct.
