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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have done it again and are NBA champions once more. They've furthered the lineage of Lakers greats while bringing the spotlight to the historic franchise that now has a league-tying 17 championships, matching the Boston Celtics.
After facing scrutiny for their lack of success in grabbing another star to pair with LeBron James when he first signed in 2018, the front office was able to pull off a few last-minute signings in the offseason of 2019 along with the Anthony Davis trade.
A few sharpshooters and defensive gurus later, the Lakers were in a decent spot to compete in the loaded Western Conference. By the conclusion of the regular season in the Disney bubble, the Purple and Gold found themselves atop the conference.
That wasn't the story that was printed on the headlines, however. When voters got a chance to decide, it was the Los Angeles Clippers that many pegged to have assembled the best roster to compete for a championship — but it proved to be far from reality after the Doc Rivers-mentored squad blew a 3-1 lead and lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Denver Nuggets.
For what it's worth, the Lakers may have caught a break by avoiding the Clippers. Though they seemed often uninspiring against a young, hungry squad in the Nuggets, Kawhi Leonard's Clippers surely would have risen to the occasion against their top rivals in the Lakers.
On paper, the Clippers presented a more talented roster than the Lakers. Although luck was on the Lakers side this time with James and Davis, that same luck may not present itself next season.
With that said, the Lakers should look to load up new pieces in order to become a more legitimate threat next year. Here are a few moves that the Rob Pelinka and Co. should make if they hope to have a chance at a repeat title in 2021.
3. Address the bench
The Lakers didn't possess the best bench in the NBA during the 2019-20 season. It had multiple areas that needed addressing, one of which was scoring. After sitting on the sidelines while waiting on then-free agent Leonard to make his impending decision, LA lost out on valuable free agents such as J.J. Redick, Bojan Bogdanovic, or even Derrick Rose who could've all provided much-needed scoring and spacing.
Instead, they opted to sign Jared Dudley, a player known for his shooting though not in big scoring numbers. Markieff Morris didn't necessarily thrive, though he was seen as a knock-down shooter that could pour on points coming into the season.
Certain bodies will be easy to shake off their books, while players such as Danny Green are locked in for $15.3 million next year, making his money a little more difficult to move around. The Lakers will have to look into some salary-dumping deals in order to clear space for better talent.
2. Figure out Kuz
The Lakers have had ample time to figure out the route they'll take with Kyle Kuzma. At age 25, Kuzma has shown signs of being able to become a Carmelo Anthony-like scorer at will while possessing decent length to play either the small or power forward spots in certain lineups.
The problem with Kuzma that doesn't show any signs of progress is his decision making. His playing time dipped from 33 minutes to 25 upon the arrival of Davis via a blockbuster trade last summer. That eight-minute difference still hasn't stopped him from making careless mistakes on both sides of the floor.
Kuzma still has time to turn things around after a year in which his playing time reasonably decreased his production. He's up for an extension like the other players of his draft class this offseason, allowing the Lakers to rule on Kuzma's worth. They must determine whether or not there's a better option out there to pair with Davis for the future versus the University of Utah product.
1. Fix the starters
Aside from James and Davis, this starting lineup should definitely be tinkered with in the offseason. Having another prolific star or budding talent in the mix will help take the burden off an aging James.
Whenever James rested during games in the 2019-20 season, the Lakers' offense often became a blur with Davis left to make plays. Kuzma could very well develop into that player in the future, but banking on him making that jump next season would be a huge gamble.
James will be 36 years old by the time the new season rolls around, tacking more miles on his body after another championship run. The Akron, Ohio native has taken the #WashedKing tagline and demolished it, leaving pundits in awe. Still, Father Time catches up to everyone, and James isn't exempted.
With the Lakers set to offer Davis a max contract in the offseason, the next phase of building around him versus James will commence. With that comes figuring out who will be Davis' running mate for years to come in LA.
