Suck it haters.
ANALYST PREDICTION
J.A. AdandeESPN.com
PACIFIC: 3 | WEST: 9 Right now they're the wildest card in the deck. With Kobe Bryant they could squeeze into one of the last playoff spots. Without him they're lottery bound. Lamar Odom would become their best player by default, and he's played more than 64 games only once in three years as a Laker.
Greg AnthonyESPN.com
PACIFIC: 3 | WEST: 8 The cloud hangs over L.A. no matter what happens with Kobe. If he leaves, there's an adjustment period for the new players. If he stays, the question of if, and when, he will be traded will linger. Tough times.
Jon Barry ESPN.com
PACIFIC: 3 | WEST: 10 Quite miraculous they made playoffs last year. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom are not a good tandem -- both are terrific individually -- but sometimes it just doesn't work together. I saw no improvement with Andrew Bynum throughout the year.
Chris Broussard ESPN Mag
PACIFIC: 3 | WEST: 9 If Kobe remains, he still won't be enough to get this crew into the playoffs. Injuries are a problem again, and team chemistry is -- and always will be -- horrible. The good news? Maybe a "to-heck-with-it'' Kobe will entertain us with another 81, or more.
Ric Bucher ESPN Mag
PACIFIC: 3 | WEST: 8 It hurts to see such a proud franchise be reactive, not proactive. Patching it up with Kobe was never going to happen, making the draft the time to trade him. Now they have to make a face-saving deal. Meanwhile, a season is wasted.
Chad Ford ESPN.com
PACIFIC: 2 | WEST: 9 If Kobe is happy and motivated, the Lakers are probably in line for the seventh seed. But if the melancholy Kobe we've seen in the preseason shows up, the Lakers will be in trouble. Kobe being halfhearted might be the final straw that gets him traded.
Jemele Hill ESPN.com
PACIFIC: 2 | WEST: 7 Assuming Kobe is still there, the Lakers will be wonderfully mediocre. Thankfully the Smush Parker era is over, but their frontcourt is still an eyesore. Let's see if Kobe makes it to midseason without taking out his frustration on someone.
John Hollinger ESPN.com
PACIFIC: 2 | WEST: 7 This prediction obviously assumes Kobe stays here all season, which is still where the smart money lies in my estimation. If not, revise this downward by 15 wins or so.
Chris Sheridan ESPN.com
PACIFIC: 2 | WEST: 9 With or without Kobe, they're no better than a 44-win team. They should be a terrific soap opera, however, so don't fall asleep on them. The clock is ticking on the next Kobe eruption.
Marc Stein ESPN.com
PACIFIC: 3 | WEST: 8 You have to believe that Kobe, after everything that was said in the offseason, is going to play with a chip on his shoulder so big that every other Laker can hop aboard. But it takes some serious faith to believe that Kobe and his chip will be Laker property for the whole season.
