The Los Angeles Lakers may have just finished as runner-ups in the West, but considering how their series against the Denver Nuggets ended coupled with the competition surrounding them within their respective conference, as currently constructed they are still ways away from legitimately vying for banner number 18.
Though rostering the likes of LeBron James and (a healthy) Anthony Davis will almost certainly keep them in contention for a playoff spot for the time being, in order to be viewed as a serious title contender Rob Pelinka and company must look into improving the team's supporting cast this summer.
Of course, considering their current possession of -$89.1 million in cap space heading into 2023-24, unless certain individuals are willing to take a major pay cut to join the star duo, it's more likely than not that the top-billed talents slated to be available this summer won't be joining on with Los Angeles.
That said, while adding star power is always considered to be an attractive draw for front offices during the offseason, when it comes to the Lakers, with LeBron and AD already in the mix this should by no means be viewed as the biggest need that the club's decision-makers should look to address.
Above anything else, L.A. needs to set its sights on bolstering its collection of shooting talents on the roster, specifically when it comes to off-ball shooters.
From the eye test to the advanced statistics, it's well known that the Lakers were easily one of the worst long-range shooting teams in the association this past year.
During their regular season run, the club ranked 26 in 3-point attempts (2,558) and 25 in 3-point percentage (34.6%).
Though their production in this department did manage to improve following their moves made at and around the trade deadline, they still only ranked 20 (846) and 15 (36.2%), respectively, in these aforementioned categories from February 9 on and, during the postseason, ranked 11 (33.5%) out of 16 qualifying teams in 3-point percentage despite hoisting up the fifth-most attempts (484).
As has proven to be the case with virtually every LeBron James-led squad throughout his illustrious 20-year NBA career, his teams are generally more successful when he's surrounded by competent shooters.
From his epic second championship season with the Miami Heat in 2012-13 where they ranked second in the league in long-range percentage (39.6%) to his historic title-clinching run with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2015-16 where the team trailed only the Golden State Warriors in effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot attempts from the field (56.3%), the King's most successful overall seasons generally have seen quality shooters stationed around him.
Despite Los Angeles' best efforts to try and recreate such playstyles with their current assortment of talents, the results have simply not been as effective and, in turn, they've continuously fallen short of their championship aspirations following their 2020 bubble run.
As we approach the official start of the NBA offseason, rumors are already circulating suggesting that the Lakers could be in the mix for several star names.
From rumblings suggesting Kyrie Irving could be heading West Coast bound to the recently surfaced concept of Chris Paul signing with L.A. now that he's slated to enter free agency after being waived by the Phoenix Suns, as is the case virtually every year, the Lakers will be viewed as a top landing spot for some of the league's best available players.
However, as they themselves have proven recently with the infamous Russell Westbrook blockbuster from 2021, acquiring bigger names doesn't always lead to better turnouts.
While the hypothetical of LeBron James reuniting with Irving or finally teaming up with banana-boat bestie CP3 is an extremely entertaining possibility, perhaps it's not the team's best course of action should they wish to truly be the best version of themselves.
This season, we saw the Lakers rejuvenate themselves literally as soon as they gave up on trying to make the star trio of James, Davis, and Westbrook work. Instead, they opted to ship the latter outbound to better bolster the depth chart with rotational players such as Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley.
From then on out, they went 18-8 after going a mediocre 25-31 through their first 56 games of action and, in turn, ended up punching their ticket for a deep playoff run.
While it may not have sounded as “sexy,” a lineup featuring the likes of Austin Reaves, Malik Beasley, and Rui Hachimura proved to be far better than the stagnant one that held a collective total of 36 All-Star appearances among three players.
Now, instead of trying to go all in on a spicy name this offseason, the Lakers must look to continue rounding out their current arsenal, and the best way of doing this will be by pursuing reasonably priced snipers.
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