Lakers Fans Should Be Offended by New ESPN Survey's Pick for Next Western Conference Champ

If the NBA season started today, it's understandable why people have the Los Angeles Clippers as the favorites coming out of the West and winning the NBA title.

They signed Kawhi Leonard and acquired Paul George, creating an epic duo to go along with Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams and several other talented young players in the mix. That's why in a recent ESPN survey, the Clippers are the title favorites and Kawhi was voted the best player in the game.

While I totally agree, why did the Los Angeles Lakers get ZERO votes for winning the Western Conference?

Did we forget that the Lakers have a LeBron James-Anthony Davis duo? Yes, health is a concern for both players, but you have the pedigree of LBJ, and Davis is one of the five best players in the NBA.

Oh, and considering they struck out on signing Leonard, they did a pretty good job filling out this roster with shooting and established veteran players. Oh, and they've still got Kyle Kuzma.

The Lakers certainly have their warts and things that don't make them a perfect team, but the Western Conference and NBA as a whole is so wide open, a handful of teams could come out of the West, including the Lakers.

Maybe it's a good thing for the Lakers they are being undervalued and not getting all the attention.