This offseason is a major one for the Los Angeles Lakers as they look to properly build their roster around superstar guard Luka Doncic and compete for an NBA Championship. But no matter what they do this summer, the Lakers have a tough task in front of them as the top of the Western Conference is occupied by the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
San Antonio and Oklahoma City just clashed in an epic seven-game series with the Victor Wembanyama leading the Spurs over two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Thunder. And with both teams having young cores and sure to be around for many years, Robert Horry believes the Lakers have to build their team with taking down those teams in mind.
“You think about the days when we won three in a row. So many guys got jobs because they were there to try to stop Shaq,” Horry said in an appearance on ESPN LA Radio. “It’s so many guys that got paid because they needed a big body. There’s no big body for Wemby. So you gotta find someone who’s a tall defensive player who can kinda deter some things, who can move his feet.
“That’s what the Lakers gotta do. They gotta build to beat OKC, they gotta build to beat San Antonio because that’s what good teams do. You realize who you are and you look at the team’s who’s out there dominating and you build your team to try to beat them. So hopefully the Lakers can find something out there, because they’re gonna be depleted. So many free agents and who knows what’s going on with LeBron so they gonna have to find a way to beat those two big dogs.”
Of course, this task will be easier said than done. Both the Spurs and Thunder have deep rosters full of talented and athletic young players led by top tier superstars. The Lakers have their superstar in place in Doncic, but figuring out the right team to fit around him is the goal of this offseason.
But Horry is right in that in order for the Lakers to win a championship they will have to go through those two teams at the top so figuring out how to combat them should be on their minds as they build the roster this summer.
JJ Redick discusses importance of Lakers adding depth
Depth is a commonality between the Spurs and Thunder and it is something that hurt the Lakers down the stretch as injuries ravaged the roster ahead of the playoffs. And head coach JJ Redick spoke on the importance of the Lakers adding depth this offseason.
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