Lakers News: Lottery-Bound Pre-LeBron LA Club Looks Loaded in Retrospect

Whoops.

Oct 31, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bogut (66) and guard Jordan Clarkson (6) and forward Julius Randle (30) and center Brook Lopez (11) and forward Brandon Ingram (14) celebrate during a game against the Detroit Pistons at Staples Center. The Lakers defeated the Pistons 113-93. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

"The 2017-18 Los Angeles Lakers were stacked," claims Leigh Ellis of The Athletic's "No Dunks" podcast in a new clip.

Below, he unpacks how this very young team, just two seasons removed from Hall of Fame shooting guard Kobe Bryant's retirement and pre-dating future Hall of Fame forward LeBron James' arrival by one year, was a bit too green to allow then-head coach Luke Walton to fully capitalize on its retroactively-loaded roster.

The club boasted two future All-Stars in eventual one-time (so far) New Orleans Pelicans All-Star forward Brandon Ingram and eventual three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle, both just young lottery picks at the time.

Although he was already a veteran with an All-Star appearance under his belt at the time, North Hollywood native Brook Lopez would eventually blossom into that rarest of all things, a 3-and-D center, on his next team. The 7-foot-1 Stanford product became a two-time All-Defensive center and NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso all became quality champion role players with the Lakers themselves in 2019-20, with Caldwell-Pope serving as a starter on that team. KCP also went on to win a second title as a starter for the Denver Nuggets. Caruso became a two-time All-Defensive Teamer with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan Clarkson would blossom into a Sixth Man of the Year with the Utah Jazz. Lonzo Ball, Larry Nance Jr., Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac would all turn into critical contributors on solid playoff squads elsewhere.

Former two-time All-Star Luol Deng and former All-NBA center and league champion Andrew Bogut, meanwhile, were on the other side of the mountain for their respective careers.

Had everyone been in their prime, this would have been a heck of a squad.

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