The Los Angeles Lakers are nearly great. Despite struggling for most of the season and backdooring their way into the playoffs through the play-in tournament, the Lakers were legitimately one of the best teams for the last few months of the season. When you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, you only need competence to contend and the Lakers finally cleared that admittedly low bar. Still, getting swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals revealed the gulf between them and a truly championship-level team. Here are the three roster moves the Lakers can make this offseason close that gap and win the 2024 NBA title.
Get a star guard
Admittedly, this is more of a fantasy than a goal; if the Lakers could simply add an All Star point guard to their roster, they already would have. At this point in his career, LeBron James is too old to withstand the rigors of carrying the offense for an entire season, although he’s still capable of mustering that energy when the moment calls for it. Similarly, Anthony Davis has shown that he doesn’t have the appetite or capacity to be the main option on an elite offense. As such, the Lakers should turn over every stone in search of an elite guard this offseason who could form the third tine of their Big Three.
Back in 2021, the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook to address this exact need. While that move didn’t work and was widely panned, the logic behind it was sound. Now, the Lakers just need to find the right guy.
Fortunately, this year’s NBA offseason abounds with potential options for the Lakers. Obviously, Kyrie Irving has long been the team’s white whale; dating back to last summer, the Lakers have strongly pursued the mercurial All Star, hoping to reunite Irving with James and reprise their golden years in Cleveland. Since their bubble title, James and Davis have struggled to recapture their pick-and-roll magic; defenses can switch without ceding too much of a mismatch since James and Davis are similarly sized. Conversely, James has found more success when his point guards screen for him. Against the Nuggets, James’ best possessions all came when he forced Jamal Murray to guard him.
In this sense, Irving is the ideal partner for James, considering his skillset and established chemistry with the Lakers’ legend. If Irving is unattainable, expect the Lakers to also make desperate, doomed approaches to trade for Damian Lillard or Trae Young.
Sign a backup center
In 2023, it’s almost incomprehensible that a putative contender would ever voluntarily play Tristan Thompson for 20 minutes in a do or die playoff game—and it’s even more incomprehensible that he would represent a major upgrade over the other available options on the Lakers' roster. Even after rehauling their entire roster at the trade deadline, the Lakers didn’t have a reliable backup big, which proved to be a major weakness against the Nuggets in the playoffs. Facing Nikola Jokic, the Lakers were forced to sic LeBron James and Rui Hachimura on the two-time MVP center. Admittedly, James and Hachimura held up well, but it’s not sustainable to ask them to guard centers on a full time basis.
Fortunately, backup center is perhaps the easiest role to fill. In the offseason, capable, low-cost veterans like Mason Plumlee, Mike Muscala, Dwight Powell and Drew Eubanks will be available, all of whom would give Los Angeles’ bench some much needed size. To wit, Mo Bamba will presumably be healthy next year and the Lakers have the option to retain him on a non-guaranteed $10.3 million deal. He will presumably be cut loose as a cap casualty if the Lakers opt to aggressively pursue some of the higher end free agents, but he’d be an intriguing, high-ceiling choice if the Lakers keep him around as an understudy to Anthony Davis.
Get more shooting
Despite the general vibe of Lakers Exceptionalism, this is one arena where the Lakers aren’t special; every serious team could always use more shooting. Built around two dominant perimeter players, though, the Lakers have a particularly acute need for shooting; LeBron James generates so many open threes for his teammates, but it’s a waste when mediocre shooters like Dennis Schroeder and Lonnie Walker are the ones taking them.
Accordingly, the Lakers must find another accurate, high-volume shooter besides Austin Reaves. In the playoffs, the Lakers found an effective identity as a skilled bully, leaning on their roster’s collective size and playmaking ability. Although the Lakers surpassed expectations by making the playoffs and reaching the Western Conference Finals, they shot a galling 33.5 percent from three even though they maintained an above average shot quality. As a result, the Nuggets series illuminated the gap between an effective patchwork unit and a legitimate juggernaut.
Still, shooting isn’t that hard to find. The Lakers even have good internal options on their roster: Malik Beasley is a bona fide sniper who made the seventh most threes in the NBA before he was curiously banished from the rotation; sophomore wing Max Christie is an intriguing spot-up shooter who shot 41.5 percent from three in limited minutes. To wit, free agent snipers like Gary Trent and Alec Burks could be in the Lakers price range depending on the rest of the team’s offseason moves.
Follow Us
Subscribe