The Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason drew mixed reactions due to the roster complete turnover, which stemmed from LeBron James’ departure. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka put together a team that he feels could help Luka Doncic lead this new era, returning the purple and gold to prominence.
With the likes of Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle, it will be interesting to see how these new pieces fit. Former two-time champion of the Lakers, Sasha Vujacic, shared his thoughts on Los Angeles’ moves this summer.
“As long as you win the last game of the season, actually the last game in the playoffs, that’s all that matters,” Vujacic said in an interview with ESPN LA. “I think we have a great team at the moment. We have good coaching staff and as [Phil Jackson] always said, he said, we will not know what the team’s identity is going to be until sometime in Thanksgiving or after Thanksgiving. So, we got to give it some time, we got to be patient. And I think we’ve done great moves this offseason by getting every position filled and I’m really excited to see this team perform.
“So, it’s going to be a fun season for all of Laker nation. I know the Laker nation and purple and gold nation are very excited. So, I’m with them. I think we will play fun basketball. I think that predicting for me was never part of my DNA, let’s say. I think we have a very interesting team and then in the playoffs, like right now we live in an era where it’s not dynasty era anymore. So, you got to win a championship. But hopefully this team can show something more important and that’s continuity. And I think that being in Slovenia, getting along, starting early, it’s huge. It’s huge for any team and as long as they stay healthy, I think the sky’s the limit.”
At this point, basketball needs to be played to truly evaluate how this Lakers team will fit together. The new players look good on paper, but as Vujacic mentioned, they need to get on the court as a unit and build chemistry, which they began to do in Slovenia.
Sasha Vujacic loved seeing Luka Doncic take Lakers to Slovenia
As a fellow Slovenian, Vujacic continues to have an invested interest in the Lakers with Doncic on the team. As Doncic takes on a new leadership role, Vujacic loved seeing him take his new teammates back to his home country.
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