The Los Angeles Lakers have a rare opportunity to effectively start from scratch in their team building around one of the best players in the world in Luka Doncic. General manager Rob Pelinka has only six players under guaranteed contracts, and will have among the most cap space in the league.
There’s an argument to be made that the Lakers should build a completely different team than the one that just lost in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. However, Pelinka believes that the team’s 16-2 stretch in March could serve as a guideline for the type of team he wants to build.
“At the trade deadline obviously we added Luke Kennard. We think the spacing that he brought, Rui coming on and providing incredible shooting down the stretch and in the playoffs, really opened up sort of the way we wanted to play and the way JJ wanted to coach by adding shooting to the lineup,” Pelinka said after the Lakers were eliminated.
“I think that March stretch was a powerful and strong data point, proof of concept, to go 16-2 and play as good as any team in the NBA during that stretch. That window and that period of time will be a part of our deconstruction as we figure out how to retrofit things around our primary pieces.”
The Lakers were absolutely one of the best teams in the league for the 18-game stretch before losing both Doncic and Austin Reaves to injury. And even still, they managed to pick up the pieces and win a playoff series without their best player. If they feel that the final two months of the season were indicative of who they are, then building a similar team makes sense.
L.A. could also look at the ongoing Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs and come to the conclusion that, even at full strength, they are a significant tier below. If they decide that, they might need to make some big swings to try and reach that level.
What LeBron James reportedly wants from Lakers this offseason
One of the big decisions the Lakers are going to need to make is surrounding LeBron James. The all-time great could be entering his 24th season and age-42 campaign if he decides to play, but is an unrestricted free agent.
James, reportedly, wants the Lakers to approach him with a plan for what he’ll be making and what they plan to do with the extra money before he commits to any team.
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