ESPN: Los Angeles Lakers' ceiling is a first-round exit

The Los Angeles Lakers failed to keep up with the rest of the contenders in the NBA. They revamped their roster, added a former MVP in Russell Westbrook, yet their team was never healthy enough or good enough to compete.

Two-thirds of the regular season arealready on the books. The Lakers have been a borderline playoff team at best and a bottom-feeding, lottery-picking team most of the time. Even so, Frank Vogel’s job seems to be safe for now.

The Lakers still have time to put together a run, make the playoffs, and pull off some big-time upsets. However, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN believes their ceiling right now is just another first-round exit.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Says The Lakers’ Ceiling Is A First-Round Exit

“Their ceiling is the playoffs and a first-round exit,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “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 even have a problem with Dallas for crying out loud. Let’s not forget the Denver Nuggets… The point is, when we look at the Los Angeles Lakers, they’ll be lucky to make it past the play-in tournament… it should be an expectation that they should at least make the first round. You do have LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.”

There’s A War Brewing In Los Angeles

To make things even more complicated, it seems like the front office’s relationship with LeBron James is getting tenser by the day. Per Bill Oram of The Athletic, it looks like ‘the early days of a war’.

“Because James and agent Rich Paul long grabbed hold of the Lakers organization and are now beginning to really squeeze. The situation is tense enough that one source close to the Lakers likened it to the early days of a war,” Oram reported.

“So far, the Lakers haven’t shown a particular willingness to engage in battle with their superstar, with sources saying that (GM Rob) Pelinka has insisted internally that there are no hard feelings between the two sides,” Oram added. “But even if it is, for now, a one-sided war, by digging their heels in and not giving James everything that he wants has the potential to be received as a form of aggression — a battle tactic in its own right.”

James could try and force his way out of the team in the summer as the Lakers have reportedly no intention of removing Pelinka from his position. It’s still early to tell but things could get pretty ugly in the next couple of months.