Dave McMenaminESPN staff writer3 minutes to read
What moves should the Lakers do this season?
Brian Windhorst demonstrates some roster moves the Lakers could make in the offseason.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – A lot has happened in the Western Conference in the five weeks ago The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the Conference Finals.
Eliminating Los Angeles, the Denver Nuggets proved they have a championship-ready squad already by defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. The Phoenix Suns traded Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards in a trade for Bradley Beal. Then the Golden State Warriors traded Jordan Paul to Washington for Paul. The Memphis Grizzlies received news that Ja Morant was suspended for 25 games and dealt with Tyus Jones as part of a three-team deal to land Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics.
Despite the flurry of activity that was already making its way across the West, Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka has remained steadfast in his plan for the offseason: trying to bring back as much of the Lakers’ core as possible from last season to run it again.
“I think we believe in the proof of concept for this group, and we’ve seen defensively what we’ve been able to do to finish the season, and I think defense and rebounding win championships…we want to build on that,” Pelinka said Tuesday. “I think if there are ways we can improve the roster, of course we will. I think there should probably be less focus on, ‘Hey, what is Team X or Team Y doing?'” and more focus on “How can we improve?”
Pelinka made the remarks at a press conference to introduce the Lakers’ rookie teams: No. 17 pick Jalen Hood-Scheveno of Indiana State and No. 40 pick Maxwell Lewis of Pepperdine.
Pelinka saw the NBA wide open, causing a lot of franchises to plan to stock up for next season with free agency set to start this Friday (6 p.m. ET).
“The teams will be fierce,” Pelinka said. “There is a lot of parity in the league now, and everyone is smelt a chance to chase the championship, but we will do everything we can to stay in this group or at the top of that group.”
Before being eliminated by Denver – losing all four games by 24 points – Los Angeles had amassed an 18-6 record through the end of the regular season, cycle play and the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Los Angeles has several key players from last season’s team hitting the market, including restricted free agents Austin Reeves and Rui Hachimura and unrestricted free agents D’Angelo Russell, Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV. On Tuesday, the Lakers made qualifying bids to Reeves and Hachimura, which means they have the right to match any outside bid to keep them.
The Lakers also have decisions standing to make on the contracts of Mo Bamba ($10.3 million) and Malik Paisley ($16.5 million) by Thursday before they become guaranteed for 2023-24.
“We want to do everything we can to keep this core group of players together and also improve things on the sidelines to not only get back to where we were last year but hopefully take the next step and get into the NBA Finals,” Pelinka said.
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