LeBron James Markieff Morri
Photo: AP/Mark J. Terrill

The Los Angeles Lakers have been impressive in the offseason so far and have already emerged as the top candidate to win the 2021 NBA championship.

Based on the moves the Lakers have made in free agency, the best betting sites have placed them as the odds-on favorite to repeat next season.

The Lakers and GM Rob Pelinka decided to upgrade the roster during the offseason and did exactly that. The franchise brought in some of the top players in the league in Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol.

All three of them are expected to offer something new and different on both ends of the floor, but, most importantly, they will open the floor for LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

At the same time, the defending champions re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Markieff Morris, with both players being game changers in the 2020 NBA Finals.

They also agreed to a deal with veteran guard Wesley Matthews. The latter is considered a decent 3-and-D player, who will come off the bench to score and play defense.

On the other hand, the Lakers traded Danny Green and JaVale McGee, while Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley chose to sign with Eastern Conference teams.

Dwight Howard Danny Green
Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

Overall, Pelinka managed to create a deep and talented team and upgraded the roster. Now, the franchise has one target on its mind: to claim the title and surpass the Boston Celtics on top of the list with the most NBA championships.

Certainly, though, the Lakers will face a very tough challenge in their effort to successfully defend the title.

The majority of the teams in the West has also improved their respective rosters and teams like the Clippers, the Warriors and the Nuggets will fight to dethrone the Lakers.

In the East, the Brooklyn Nets have emerged as the favorite to go all the way, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving back to the lineup.

Another five teams (the Bucks, the Heat, the Celtics, the Raptors and the Sixers) also have title aspirations and will not be an easy opponent for the Lakers in a potential Finals matchup.

With the new season starting on December 22, the Lakers made the necessary moves to improve the roster and now are in the pole position for the title.