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Los Angeles Lakers
Overall: 101
Title track: 28
Ownership: 79
Coaching: 101
Players: 105
Fan relations: 99
Affordability: 111
Stadium experience: 82
Bang for the buck: 117
Change from last year: -14
Not even the No. 2 overall pick in 2015 -- Ohio State phenom D'Angelo Russell -- and a healthy Kobe Bryant can stave off the Lakers' biggest Ultimate Standings drop in three years (minus-14) or their sub-100 rankings in four of our eight categories. Yes, a .254 winning percentage (worst in franchise history) last season will do that to a team.
What's good
The Lakers -- of both the Minneapolis and Los Angeles varieties -- have reached the Finals in each decade, dating from their inaugural 1948-49 campaign. So their title track aspirations? Still a respectable No. 28 overall and sixth best among NBA teams. (L.A., in fact, has scored top 30 in title track every year since our rankings began in 2003.) That, plus a promising young nucleus led by Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle, is ... about all the franchise has going for it these days. But if any Lakers fans want to wax nostalgic about the good ol' days, hit up the Staples Center's upcoming honorary nights for legendary announcer Chick Hearn (Nov. 12) and late owner Jerry Buss (Jan. 26).
What's bad
Bryant's back, but his $25 million salary -- the final season of a cap-clogging, two-year $48 million deal -- is payment for past services rendered more than present and future potential. He has suffered season-ending injuries in each of his last three campaigns, and without him, an unkempt roster, headed last season by the likes of Nick Young and Wayne Ellington, limped to a paltry 21 wins in 2014-15. In related news? The Lakers' rang in this year's players category at No. 105. Coaching didn't fare much better, also yielding a triple-digit reading, thanks to the analytic-allergic Byron Scott, whose squad finished No. 25 in both 3-point attempts and makes. And with an average ticket still ringing in north of $100 (second highest in the NBA), the Lakers' bang for the buck is so poor (No. 117 overall, second worst in the league) that even Jack Nicholson might think about sitting this season out.
What's new
At the heart of the Lakers' recent turmoil is the Family Buss. Head of basketball operations Jim Buss has landed the brunt of the criticism for his personnel calls (see: Bryant's contract above), while his sister, Jeanie, has been grilled on whether she'd ever fire her brother should he fail to produce more wins. That soap opera drama is a far cry from the once-rock-solid family business, which peaked at No. 9 in 2011 on the heels of back-to-back championships but has plummeted 70 spots four years later.
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