The last few offseasons have been difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans, as they have attempted to bring in various superstar free agents.
Former general manager Mitch Kupchak had a tough task as the team did not have much talent on its roster to appeal to free agents, which helped lead to the Lakers striking out on every big-name free agent like Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar Derozan and Kevin Durant, among others.
The Lakers front office has undergone a complete makeover in recent weeks though, as owner Jeanie Buss fired her brother Jim Buss and Kupchak, and hired former Laker great Magic Johnson to be president of basketball operations.
Johnson and Jeanie then brought in sports agent Rob Pelinka, who represented Kobe Bryant and many other NBA players, to be the team’s new general manager.
Johnson and Pelinka have a tough task ahead of them, as they have set a goal of making the Lakers the best franchise in all of sports. At his introductory press conference on Friday, Pelinka said that this summer and free agency will be very important, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Rob Pelinka stresses the importance of needing to “add players in free agency."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 10, 2017
Though Pelinka is very high on the Lakers current young core, but still believes they need to improve the roster via Winters:
Pelinka: “We have some strong really young talent on this team, but we have to get better talent for Luke to coach."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 10, 2017
Among the top players set to hit free agency this summer are Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Gordon Hayward, Jrue Holiday and Derrick Rose.
While the Lakers would seem unlikely to get one of those stars to come to Los Angeles this summer, getting a star in 2018 may be more realistic as Paul George is set to hit free agency and has expressed desire about coming to play for his hometown Lakers.
Johnson and Pelinka may also attempt to trade for George if the Indiana Pacers express desire in moving him, and that could happen as early as this summer.
