It’s been over a month since free agency kicked off and the Los Angeles Lakers have yet to make any new additions to their roster. However, even if moves are to be made, L.A. has no roster spots available.
Given these circumstances, there is uncertainty brewing on whether general manager Rob Pelinka will ultimately pull off a trade to improve the team or if he will just stick with the same roster. With LeBron James entering his 22nd season and Anthony Davis in the middle of his prime, there should be urgency to push their chips in to cash in a championship.
Yet, opposing general managers can sense that desperation and are expected to prompt the Lakers to overpay should they want rotational upgrades. A message that has been pushed is patience and that continues to be the case heading into the dog days of the offseason, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“As things stand, the Lakers are preaching patience that the right trade will eventually materialize while betting that healthier versions of Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, the addition of Knecht and the promotion of Christie into the rotation will shore up the group’s perimeter defense, athleticism and shooting.”
Should that patience not pay off, admittedly, it is risky to run it back and bank on internal development. There is no guarantee that Davis and James will have extremely healthy back-to-back seasons after an Olympics run, and that’s in addition to thinking Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt can stay healthy enough to provide much-needed perimeter defense.
Head coach JJ Redick brought up the need to have two-way players, which was an issue last year as the Lakers too many one-way players. Their two-way players in Vincent and Vanderbilt missed essentially the entire season, which impacted L.A.’s team defense drastically.
Perhaps running it back would not be a bad idea any other year, but the Western Conference is as competitive as ever. Teams have been making considerable improvement while the Lakers have yet to make any moves, which could backfire on them.
Lakers never made offer or had serious discussions with DeMar DeRozan
A name that L.A. monitored early in free agency was DeMar DeRozan after striking out on acquiring Klay Thompson. After nearly signing DeRozan in 2021 when they pivoted to trading for Russell Westbrook, it appeared to be a chance at a re-do for the Lakers.
However, L.A. never made an offer or had serious discussions with DeRozan, resulting in him going to the Sacramento Kings.
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