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Soon after the LA Lakers were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the Phoenix Suns last Thursday, questions about the team’s roster became the topic of conversation everywhere. From talk shows to Twitter, many of the team’s players were the subject of unofficial trade talks and speculation about whether the Lakers should re-sign them or not.
Given the team’s failure to advance past the first-round of this postseason less than a year after winning the 2020 NBA title, the possibility that the LA Lakers will overhaul their roster exists. Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka perhaps hinted at this recently.
"It has to be the fuel that drives your passion, and I think us falling short as a team, that in some sense is going to be part of our motivation and putting in the work to getting back at it, and start training camp next year with a strong roster," Pelinka told reporters after the LA Lakers season ended prematurely days ago.
However, he may have backtracked a bit on that statement shortly after when he said that he wanted to keep the core of the team together. After being beset by injuries to their star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it’s hard to blame Pelinka for thinking about giving the roster another chance.
So what does the LA Lakers front office really think of this roster, and should they try to bring most of the pieces back for one more title run?
Based on the supporting cast’s underwhelming performance in six games versus the Suns, the LA Lakers have to strongly consider overhauling the roster before training camp.
The LA Lakers roster as it currently stands
James and Davis are under contract with the LA Lakers for the next couple of years, all the way to at least the 2022-23 season. These two form the basic core of the roster and are a lock to return for another championship run.
Aside from the two All-Stars, they have Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marc Gasol under contract to play for them next season. Montrezl Harrell has a $9.7 million player option which he will decide on in the offseason, but the rest of the gang are free agents heading into the summer.
The LA Lakers don’t have a lot of options going into free agency to put together a championship team due largely to the salaries already committed to these five players. This makes it almost imperative that they try to re-sign many of their key rotation players from this past season. But the contracts that Pelinka should offer them have to be reasonable enough that they can be traded down the line for players they actually need.
The top priority free agents on the roster are Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker. The LA Lakers are likely going to keep one or two of these players but it will be interesting to see if they will try and accommodate all three at the same time.
Players that the LA Lakers should pursue
Practically every team needs more shooters and more defenders, and hopefully some of these players can play on both ends of the court.
LeBron’s best teams have always thrived with shooters on the roster. One of the biggest reasons why the LA Lakers lost to the Suns was their inability to hit the 3-pointer even after they were given wide-open shots from one of James’ drives. Overall, the team shot a frigid 29.9 percent from 3-point range in six games, showing everyone that they can’t win the championship without reliable shooting from its supporting cast.
Other than James (37.5%) and Marc Gasol (63.6%), everyone shot 33.3 percent from three or lower, including Kuzma, who had the worst shooting of all (17.4%) during the Suns series.
During the season, their 3-point shooting wasn’t too good either at 35.4 percent, which is good only for 21st in the league. Needless to say, the LA Lakers will have to find more shooters who will surround James and Davis, without sacrificing their defensive identity.
The verdict
If the LA Lakers are going to be championship contenders next season, an overhaul of the roster is a must because they cannot afford a repeat of this campaign’s embarrassing showing. Whether through a sign-and-trade or a deal during the 2021-22 season, Pelinka will have to address their need for more shooting in the months ahead.
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