Up to this point, the Los Angeles Lakers have yet to make any meaningful additions to their roster. Despite the implementation of a new CBA, other Western Conference teams have been able to adapt and make positive additions to their respective rosters while the Lakers have stayed quiet.
One of the key losses for the Lakers was Taurean Prince walking and signing with the Milwaukee Bucks, reuniting with Darvin Ham. Prince became the only meaningful bench production for the Lakers during the playoffs, so that loss should mean something as he expressed that he wanted to re-sign with L.A.
Now, over two weeks since free agency kicked off, general manager Rob Pelinka is not displaying urgency to upgrade this Lakers team right away. They had reported interest in Gary Trent Jr. but he chose to sign with the Bucks as well.
With that, a consolidation trade to move off of veteran minimum contracts and open up space may not happen until closer to the start of the season, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“Regardless, the Lakers expect to make a consolidation trade at some point, though that could come closer to the start of the season, according to league sources.”
Much of the free agency movement has ended and the most impactful players are off the board. While on paper, this Lakers team was not bad when the right lineups and rotations were in place, there needs to be improvement to keep up with the rest of the West.
Evidently, L.A. needs two-way players and a bruising kind of center to alleviate some pressure when Anthony Davis is off the floor. Something that head coach JJ Redick pointed out in his introductory press conference was putting together a roster with two-way players that elevate a team’s chances of winning a championship.
Last season, the Lakers had too many one-way players. There was always a weak link that could be exploited on the defensive or offensive end. Hopefully when the dust settles, Pelinka can add two or more meaningful additions to this roster to help LeBron James and Davis cash in on one more championship together.
Lakers never made offer or had serious discussions with DeMar DeRozan
When free agency kicked off on June 30, the Lakers had their sights on Klay Thompson. But they were unable to come to terms on a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors, resulting in Thompson going to the Dallas Mavericks.
This resulted in L.A. possibly shifting their focus on California native DeMar DeRozan. However, the Lakers never made an offer or had discussions with DeRozan and he ultimately went to the Sacramento Kings via sign-and-trade.
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