Season Review
The Lakers season was hyped by the media entering the season for two reasons.
The team had found a really good starting 5 plus Rui off the bench and it stabilized their team and led them to a conference finals appearance despite barely any time as a team. Surely an offseason with the same rotation would lead to a great regular season.
They appeared to address all their major needs in free agency, with big man depth, a few swings on defensive wings who can maybe shoot, and a quality 3&D point guard who can play the Schroder role but also shoot.
Neither of these things came true for two reasons.
Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent got injured early and missed almost the entire season, crippling depth and worse, damaging the rotation as Vando was a key starter and Gabe was guard #3. Missing them both meant Ham tried to solve problems that didn’t need to exist.
Ham simply wasn’t up to task. He never settled on a rotation. Decided he really wanted to force Reddish and Prince into big roles while minimizing the lineups that were proven great last year. This only got fixed in February and by then, it was too late. They tried to claw out of a hole of their own making and it ended in a brutal first round exit that they lost in part due to their team being too injured in the round. Vando, Vincent, Wood all returned but didn’t have enough time to be factors in the rotation.
Overall, a bad no good coaching job was made worse by injuries and they still won 47 games somehow.
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Team Needs
The Lakers are in a similar spot to the Nuggets two seasons ago where they are needing very specific things to improve. In Denver’s case it was getting KCP and Bruce Brown, two quality defensive first guards. LA actually needs basically the same thing. If they can find a way to turn DLo into a guard who can defend and not a negative shooter, it will help out their best three players. They can also aim to find a better 3&D wing to insert into their starting lineup - Hachimura is inconsistent and better suited as a bench player and Vanderbilt is not a threat from outside.
With that being said, it's to be expected that the Lakers join any sweepstakes for all-star guards. By upgrading Reaves with a better creator, they can relieve some of the pressure off Lebron and create a team that has more solutions and upside on the offensive end, while relying on AD to solve any defensive issues.
Free Agent Targets (WIP)
First of all, the Lakers will have to deal with the possibility of Lebron and DLo hitting the FA market. Lebron is expected to do it as a power play to force more aggressive moves from the front-office and very much likely will stay on the team. Russell, however, is an interesting case where if he declines his PO it means there might be some outside interest to sign him into teams with CAP space like Orlando or Detroit, so the Lakers might find themselves in a disadvantageous position on contract negotiations.
The Lakers have the special power to attract free agents from great value because of being a Lebron team and being on an amazing market. So, rules that don't apply to most teams don't apply to them, since they can usually sign MLE-level guys for the minimum with a promise for the spotlight. With that in mind, it's obvious to look at players that are Klutch agents, in that case, two interesting names that appear: Gary Trent Jr and Miles Bridges.
Assuming they maintain their core, the team will need to evaluate their bench pieces (Vincent, Vanderbilt and the big rotation) to find where they want to focus resources into. With the way the season unfolded with injuries, it's hard to judge who of those players performed poorly or if everyone deserves another run at full health. In a scenario where the Lakers make a big splash, there will be more open spots for the team and they'll have to fill the holes created by losing rotation player(s).
Draft Targets
The Lakers can find themselves with the 17th pick in the Draft is New Orleans decide to use the 2025 Lakers first round pick instead. The 17th pick will be involved in potential trade talks for an all-star player.
With a team in a win-now position, the Lakers should aim to draft a year 1 contributor that can fight for the top 8 of their rotation. Depending on positional need and how the draft unfolds, my personal preference for them would follow the order: DaRon Holmes, Devin Carter, Tristan Da Silva, Jared McCain, Kyle Filipowiski and Jaylon Tyson.
Trade Ideas (WIP)
The Lakers can trade 3 picks and 3 swaps, they don't have an amazing package but they can be competitive for the likes of Trae or Donovan Mitchell. An interesting name to keep an eye on is Darius Garland and how the situation will unfold in Cleveland. If the Cavs can keep Mitchell, most reports say Garland will want to leave. As a Klutch client, Garland will obviously be tied to the Lebron team all offseaon.
A player that is interesting to think about, only because there are big decisions about to be made in both places, is Bobby Portis. Theoretically the Lakers can send a first this year for him if the Bucks want to salary dump and gain access to their MLE and BAE while also having two firsts. Would allow for a fast retool. The Lakers would suddenly have a huge front court that is talented.
With the new CBA, teams can use the MLE as a trade exception. A couple names that fit the salary and might fit the Lakers timeline are: Schroder, WCJ, Kleber and Nance.
It's hard to envision a way to make a deal work, but a player the Lakers could try for with their assets is Marcus Smart. He makes so much sense as a backcourt with Reaves and to boost their defensive minded identity with AD.
Summary
The Lakers are a weird team to predict since they're a run it back candidate with small improvements, betting on the fact that a new coach and a healthier bench will improve their chances. But, being LA and having Lebron, always raises the question if the team will be involved in talks about stars that become available on the market. Lebron and AD are still a dangerous combination in the playoffs, if they could finish high up in the West to get a friendlier path to deep stages in the playoffs, would do wonders for their actual title chances.
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