The Los Angeles Lakers maintain they will do more work to improve the roster ahead of the 2022-23 season.
The Lakers finished the previous campaign with a 33-49 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs. When the nightmare season concluded, vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka promised to bring championship-level basketball back to L.A.
The Purple and Gold signed a few young, defensive-minded players in free agency. But as they still have one more roster spot to fill, the team doesn’t look to have been drastically upgraded compared to 2021-22. But Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes claims Pelinka said in a meeting with LeBron James that the Lakers need to stay patient as they work to further improve the team:
As for roster tinkering, Pelinka explained patience will be key in any potential moves the team makes, sources said. In a collaborative effort, all parties appear to be aligned on a common vision of seeing how the roster plays out before any drastic moves are sought.
The report adds that Pelinka reassured James he would “provide him with every resource possible” to allow the four-time NBA champion to compete for the championship for as long as he remains with L.A.
Hayes reported last month that James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook committed to making their Big 3 work in a phone call during the Las Vegas Summer League. But around the same time, James and Westbrook didn’t acknowledge each other’s presence during the Summer League game, suggesting a relationship breakup between the two players.
Other reports have claimed the Lakers have set training camp as a “soft deadline” to trade Westbrook.
In any event, the patience that Pelinka is preaching seems to be in regards to Kyrie Irving, who the Lakers and specifically James have expressed an interest in acquiring. Irving won’t be dealt until the Brooklyn Nets resolve Kevin Durant’s situation though, which is why the Lakers need to sit tight and see everything play out before making any moves.
James onboard with Darvin Ham running Lakers offense through Anthony Davis
New head coach Darvin Ham attended the meeting between James and Pelinka. And Ham reportedly said he wanted to run L.A.’s offense through Davis in 2022-23.
James is believed to have concurred with the head coach’s vision.
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