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The Los Angeles Lakers are a storied franchise. They have been in the NBA for 71 years appearing in the playoffs after 60 of those seasons.
Lakers have won 16 championships and have had NBA greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jamal Wilkes, James Worthy and Kobe Bryant to thank for many of the glory years.
In 2018/19, the team known as “Showtime” was expected to dominate again by adding this generation’s best player, LeBron James. Instead, we got a circus. The Lakers missed the playoffs by finishing 37-45 on the season. It led to the firing of their head coach Luke Walton, the resignation of team president Magic Johnson and questions about who’s running the team was raised.
On June 15th, 2019, before the NBA Draft, all of that drama may have changed back to the showtime masterpiece the Lakers usually are.
Armed with the No. 4 pick in the NBA Entry Draft, the Lakers agreed to part ways with it including players Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball in exchange for the service of former Pelicans center Anthony Davis.
In order to maximize cap space to go after one more megastar starting June 30th when the free agency window opens the Lakers got Davis to waive a $4million dollar signing bonus.
A secondary trade, in order to facilitate a free agent signing of significance, the Lakers general manager Rob Palenka sent a second-round pick, Moritz Wagner, along with Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones, to the Washington Wizards to clear even more cap space expanding the deal with the Pelicans to a three-team trade, as the Wizards sent the Pelicans $1.1 million.
Now with six players traded away, The Lakers have only James, Davis and Kuzma under contract for next season and also have $32 million to spend on a max-level type player. This would mean just 4 players under contract.
The Lakers obviously need a roster of 15 players and have a lot of questions to be answered starting at 6:00 pm Eastern on Sunday, June 30th when free agency begins. Here's a look at three important questions the Lakers need to address:
#3 $32 million in cap on one max-level player or two good players?
The Lakers have three players under contract. A center, a point forward and a small forward. There are 12 roster spots the Lakers need to fill.
$32 million is a lot of money, but not really in the NBA relative to the Knicks $70 million. While the Knicks might struggle to spend their cap room, the Lakers should be able to attract free agents of good caliber based on the team’s track record.
If the Lakers opt to sign a Kawhi Leonard or Kyrie Irving, then, the remaining 11 roster spots are filled out by mid-level exception type veterans, minimum salary veterans or young players on one or two-year deals that are cheap.
The Lakers could drop their sights to pursue a pair of two-way players in the mold of Danny Green, who made $10 million this past season playing for Toronto, and is a free agent. If a player like Green were to accept even a two-year deal at $26 million, (total its $13 million a year a raise of $3 million a year) the Lakers could get three players in that scenario.
In one case, the Lakers could have four-star players who they lean on for heavy minutes with LeBron James, now 34-years-old, coming off a bad groin pull.
In the other case, two superstars with one rising young star and several dependable role players. Either way, Rob Palenka has got a tough decision to make.
#2 Kawhi Leonard or somebody else?
If the Lakers do go the route of signing a maximum level free agent, why not Kawhi Leonard? He just led the Toronto Raptors to an NBA Championship. \
The Klaw is a two-time NBA Finals MVP, from California, and after a nine-game 2017/18 season, just re-established himself as a top three player in the Association.
However, while it's rumored and reported that Kawhi has a meeting scheduled with the Lakers to discuss his signing with the storried franchise, it's hard to believe that Kawhi is serious about the Lakers.
First, it was his request that Magic Johnson who resigned from the team be included in the meeting.
If Leonard is serious about the Lakers he has just issued a warning that he does not trust Rob Palenka. Magic Johnson was essentially mentoring Rob Palenka and claims he left the Lakers because Rob was essentially backstabbing him.
Adam Silver the NBA’s Commissioner has weighed in and said Magic cannot attend that meeting to discuss Leonard's free agency. It was Kawhi Leonard’s clear lack of trust in the medical, front office and head coaching staff of the Spurs that caused the trade to Toronto last summer.
It's pretty obvious Kawhi has seen the drama in Los Angeles’ front office and his request to meet with Magic, who has been synonymous with the Lakers since they drafted him, is a clear sign Kawhi does not trust Palenka.
Could Palenka and the Lakers be wasting time pursuing a piece to their puzzle they will never get? It's quite likely and Rob Palenka should not wait for a signed contract from Kawhi Leonard to fill out his roster.
#1 Should the Lakers add super substitute, Carmelo Anthony?:
This should seem like an easy answer based on the talent of the player mentioned. Anthony, drafted in 2003 the same year as LeBron James, has been much maligned in recent years.
He is a multiple-time All-Star, has great career scoring averages but has never led any team he has starred upon to great heights.
His time in Denver was fruitless, as too was it in New York after a major trade. Since then, he has had a one-year stop in OKC and a ten-game stint this past season in Houston before he was sent home to wait out his contract.
In a 15-year career, one might be stumped to find a Carmelo Anthony head coach who would say he has never played a complete or two-way game.
With that stated, Anthony can light up a score sheet and come off the Lakers bench providing them with valuable minutes for James or Kuzma to rest.
Anthony, though, must be surrounded by capable defenders when on the floor. The Houston Rockets acquired his service last off-season for $2.4 million for the year even though it didn’t work out.
A new situation, playing alongside LeBron James, and a desire to save his legacy, Anthony could flourish and add depth to an as yet mostly unknown Lakers roster.
Rob Palenka, as the general manager, has a chance to erase any perceived incompetence of the Lakers front office this past season with smart astute moves.
However, with just $32 million dollars to spend one suggestion to answer the many questions surrounding the Lakers is that it should not be spent on one player.
LeBron James is 34 years old and showed signs of wear and tear on his body. Anthony Davis is younger, but has suffered multiple minor injuries it seems every year.
The wise move here is spread the money around and build a strong deep team. But, who the Lakers sign remains to be seen and the solutions to these questions may start to reveal themselves very soon.
