As the Los Angeles Lakers look to maximize their remaining competitive window with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the biggest uncertainty ahead remains how they will build next season’s roster.
With almost a month until the NBA Draft and a month until free agency, the Lakers’ current top priority is finding the franchise’s next head coach. But just as important, if not more, will be the caliber of roster the Lakers provide him.
The Lakers are expected to be aggressive in the trade market, as The Athletic previously reported. Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka hinted at the 2024 trade deadline that part of the calculation for not reaching a deal then was moves the organization could make around the draft that begins. on June 26, when they will have access to the changes. three of their first-round picks (2024 or 2025, 2029 and 2031).
“In terms of what was available at the trade deadline, we had a first-round pick,” Pelinka said on Feb. 8. “It was our only type of fishing hook. And this summer in June, we, at draft time, will have three first-round picks to pursue deals, which I think will really unlock access to a potentially bigger or bigger swing. And we didn’t want to fire a bullet now that would only lead to a very marginal improvement at the expense of potentially making a much bigger, impactful move in June and July.”
There are two feasible paths for the Lakers: modest moves with their mid-sized contracts to improve the supporting cast around James and Davis, or a larger move with the bulk of their assets to acquire a third All-Star-caliber player.
Pelinka noted that there weren’t many top sellers or players available at the deadline. That could be the case again this summer, with several Western Conference teams hoping to jump into the Play-In Tournament (Houston, Memphis, possibly San Antonio) and the relatively low threshold for entering the Eastern Conference Play-In mix. In the event that high-level players are available (whether stars or marquee players), asking prices will almost certainly be astronomical given the competition to acquire that talent.
With free agency just a few weeks away, it’s still unclear which stars will be available on the trade market, according to league sources. Cleveland (Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland) and Atlanta (Trae Young and Dejounte Murray) will reportedly split their respective defenses. The Cavaliers are trying to get Mitchell to sign an extension, which would prevent him from being traded this summer, according to The Athletic. But until there is more clarity on which player (or players) will be available, the Lakers, like other potential suitors, can only theorize about the nature of their offers.
Young is a name that has been linked to the Lakers for a while, although some around the league believe his switch of representation from Klutch Sports to CAA earlier this month has diminished the odds of him landing in Los Angeles if he becomes available. (James and Davis are two of Klutch Sports’ most notable clients.) Still, it’s unclear whether all of the Lakers’ key stakeholders would want to pursue him aggressively.
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Young is one of many names the Lakers will discuss internally over the coming weeks, a list that includes Mitchell, Garland and Murray, the third of whom the Lakers pursued before the 2024 trade deadline. Each situation will come down to at the sales price and opportunity cost. Still, the Lakers’ best offer could be surpassed by teams like Houston, Miami, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, depending on their respective appetites to pursue available stars.
However, Pelinka hinted at the deadline that the Lakers are willing to make a bold offer for the right player or players.
“If the right decision had been made and at the right price, we would have pulled the trigger,” Pelinka said. “For now we are not afraid to use future assets. You simply have to use future assets for now in the right way and in the right deal.”
At the same time, part of the reason the Lakers left head coach Darvin Ham was that they felt the existing team underperformed in the regular season and playoffs. They still trust the core team members; perhaps the group is just one or two marginal improvements away from competing in the West alongside teams like Dallas, Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City next season.
The Lakers would also prefer to keep Austin Reaves, according to team and league sources. They previously refrained from including him in trade talks for Murray at the 2024 trade deadline and Kyrie Irving at the 2023 trade deadline. Reaves’ playoff performances in 2023 and 2024 have affirmed his fit with James and Davis .
There’s one more potential snag in the Lakers’ team-building plans: James, who has a $51.4 million player option for 2024-25, recently highlighted the need for teams to have role players from quality and depth. In episode 8 of the “Mind The Game” podcast with JJ Redick, candidate for the Lakers coaching vacancy, James praised the supporting cast of the conference’s four finalists (Boston, Indiana, Dallas and Minnesota), noting that “These games have been won by role player MVPs.”
“If there are teams here looking to be successful, obviously they have to have a star,” James said. “You have to have one, possibly two, that will ensure that everyone stays balanced. But at the end of the day, you gotta keep those soldiers around, man. You have to have the consiglières, the capos and the rest of those guys who will be ready to go, man. And that is what we see right now in the NBA semifinals.”
The harsh reality of the new collective bargaining agreement is that salary cap rules make it difficult to assemble a team built around three players with contracts in line with those of the stars. The penalties for crossing the first platform (projected at a team salary of $179.7 million) and the second platform (projected at $189.5 million) are substantial. Teams in the second platform, for example, cannot trade first-round picks seven years in the future, lose their mid-level exception, are limited to 100 percent salary matching in trades, and cannot combine multiple players in one deal, among various other restrictions.
The Lakers project to have approximately $103.7 million in committed salary for eight players entering the offseason, not including player options for James ($51.4 million), D’Angelo Russell ($18.7 million), Jaxson Hayes ( $2.5 million) and Cam Reddish ($2.5). million). That’s also before taking into account Max Christie’s restricted free agency, the potential use of the No. 17 and No. 55 picks and the remaining free agent cap. Los Angeles projects to operate as an over-cap team that will likely exceed the first platform while viewing the second platform as an unofficial hard limit.
Ahead of the June 29 player option deadline for James, the Lakers have a chance to upgrade the roster. Starting on draft night, they can begin moving their first-round picks during and after the draft. As The Athletic previously reported, the Lakers are prepared to offer James any type of contract he wants this season. League sources told The Athletic that opt-in and opt-out routes are on the table, and the leading scorer in NBA history is expected to play up to two more seasons.
By then they will also have hired a head coach, although James has made it clear that he is distancing himself from the process and allowing the franchise to make the decision itself. The Lakers interviewed New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday, team and league sources confirmed to The Athletic. (The Los Angeles Times was the first to report Borrego’s interview.) Borrego, as The Athletic previously reported, has a good relationship with Davis, which is an important factor for Los Angeles during its coaching search.
Still, the buzz Redick is generating around the league has only increased over the past week, and many believe Redick is the favorite to land the job. Meanwhile, the Lakers are still going through an extensive search process, with more in-person interviews to be conducted.
Only time will tell what opportunities will present themselves to the Lakers in the coming weeks and what direction they ultimately take this offseason. Whatever happens, though, this promises to be a monumental summer filled with big decisions.
(Top photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBE via /Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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