The Los Angeles Lakers got bounced out of the playoffs for the second consecutive year by the Denver Nuggets, setting up what will be another pivotal offseason for the franchise.

Head coach Darvin Ham admitted it was tough to see the Lakers’ season end in similar fashion, and now could very well find himself on the way out sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, LeBron James’ future is also up in the air as he has a player option for the 2024-25 season that he is expected to decline.

Despite his uncertain future, James had no problem giving the Nuggets their due after they were eliminated.

“First of all, you tip your hat to them,” James said. “Defending champions. Super great team. Super well coached and you tip your hats to them. They made the plays down the stretch to win this series. You give credit where credit is due, that’s for sure.”

James also emphasized that just because they competed well against Denver doesn’t mean he’s entirely confident they can get over the hump, though he did attribute their struggles to injuries. “No, because we lost. I’m not a participation guy. We lost, and you move on and see how you can get better but our season has been derailed all season with injuries and guys in and out.

“I talked about it all year. It’s hard to say who we are or what we can be because have yet to be whole. We were probably whole maybe one or two times this year and I know one of them was during the In-Season Tournament we got whole and we showed what we was capable of doing, but we was just hit with injuries after injuries after injuries. It’s just hard to come back from that.”

Los Angeles opted to standpat at the trade deadline despite getting healthy seasons from Anthony Davis and James, and that decision could haunt them next year. While there are reports that the most likely route for the King is to re-sign with the Lakers, things can change rapidly in the coming months.

Dwight Howard believes Lakers would’ve three-peated if 2020 team didn’t split

There has been considerable debate as to whether or not the Lakers would’ve been better off keeping their team together after winning the 2020 NBA Championship. Dwight Howard, a key member of that title team, believes that Los Angeles would’ve three-peated had the team just stayed together.