The Los Angeles Lakers went into the offseason with clear needs, and Rob Pelinka addressed them by bringing in Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia.
He got some help from Luka Doncic, who recruited both Ayton and Smart after they were bought out by their respective teams. It remains to be seen if those moves were enough, especially considering the rest of the West got better as well, but Doncic is confident the team can compete for a title as currently constructed.
Pelinka echoed those thoughts when he was talking about the roster at a press conference for Doncic’s new extension, although he left open the possibility for more moves to eventually get made.
“It’s the centerpiece of the foundation piece,” Pelinka said of building around Doncic. “I think in conversations with Luka, it was really important for us to get a rim, lob-catching center and we feel like getting Deandre Ayton was huge. It’s gonna unlock so much in Luka’s game, as you can tell with pick-and-roll reads, he’s the best in the world and I think Deandre is gonna help. Our thesis for our roster was to get younger, and I think getting some 3-and-D players like a Jake LaRavia who we could add, at his age, 42% 3-point shooter and having wings that can shoot and play both sides of the ball I think is also important. And then being able to add Marcus Smart, Defensive Player of the Year a couple years ago, I think he has a chip on his shoulder to get back to that level and put the league on notice.
“I think having players like that surrounding both Luka and LeBron, guys that can defend multiple positions, is really important. So we like the upgrades we were able to make to the roster, but by no means are we gonna be satisfied. I think every year, we’re on an infinite cycle to try to improve this team to win championships and we’ll stay committed to that work.”
The Lakers don’t have a lot of flexibility under their first apron hard cap, so if they are gonna make any more moves this offseason it would have to come via trade.
The most likely scenario is the Lakers going into training camp with their current roster. That way, Pelinka can see how the pieces fit together and keep his assets to improve at the trade deadline if need be.
Rob Pelinka hopes LeBron James retires with Lakers
The biggest question mark surrounding the Lakers this offseason has been the future of LeBron James. Pelinka was asked about James and despite the uncertainty, he said they have had good conversations and he hopes the 40-year-old retires with the Lakers.
“All of the interactions we’ve had with LeBron and his camp, Rich (Paul) in particular, have been positive and supportive,” Pelinka said. “Very professional and Rich has been great. The dialogue with him has been open and constant… In terms of LeBron’s career, I think the No. 1 thing we have to do there is respect he and his families decision in terms of how long he’s gonna play. I think that’s first and foremost, we want to respect his ability to come up with his timetable. I think that’s really important. But if he had a chance to retire a Laker, that would be great.”
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