While K. Garnett thinks the Lakers aren't contenders, what West NBA teams think

The Los Angeles Lakers may have been struggling all season long to be around the .500, sometimes under and sometimes over like right now as they currently stand in the 9th seed of the West with a 28-16 record and .519.

Because of all the Lakers' struggles and current roster, even with the front office standing pat in the trade deadline, not many in the NBA media believe the team is a legitimate contender, which wouldn't be the first time. Last year happened similar, many doubted LA would make it even to the playoffs and they only fell to the now NBA reigning champions at the WCF.

Still, Kevin Garnett recently said that anyone who thinks the Lakers have a serious shot at winning the 2023-24 NBA title is "F----g delusional." But the reality is that no one wants to face the team in the playoffs, and now a Western Conference Executive has revealed it.

“I don’t want any piece of them in the playoffs,” an anonymous Western Conference executive told ESPN. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis still among the best players in the league, there is no reason to believe the Lakers can’t repeat last season's "success" of making it to the WCF. They showed what they are capable of in a competitive environment when they won the NBA Cup as champions of the first In-Season Tournament back in December. James, in his 21st NBA season, was named the competition’s first MVP.

The Lakers are quickly gaining traction plus added Spencer Dinwiddie to the roster

The Lakers have won four of their past five games, including impressive road victories against the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks to start this month. They are coming off a 17-point win against the New Orleans Pelicans heading into their matchup against the lowly Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Though the Lakers were not able to pull off a big deal at the NBA trade deadline last week, they added veteran Spencer Dinwiddie to the team.