What do the Lakers do in the offseason?
Los Angeles, California (PSF) - The Los Angeles Lakers this season started 2-10 with a roster that had lots of questions going forward in the season. By the trade deadline, it was obvious the Lakers needed to change things up by adding key additions.
Laker’s 2022-2023 Season Summed Up
Regular Season Record (W-L): 43-39, seventh seed in the West
Playoff Run: Western Conference Finals (eliminated by Denver Nuggets, 4-0)
The Lakers’ run this season has been a rollercoaster like no other. Beginning with Darvin Ham’s takeover of Frank Vogel as the head coach, the team did not start off on the right foot, with a record of 2-10 at one point bringing in doubts as Ham’s ability to coach this major franchise as a first-year head coach. However, Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ management conducted a major shift into the new year with key moves amidst the winter transfer window. With the arrival of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, and Davon Reed, the team rose from the 13th seed in the West to the seventh, thus making the Western Conference play-in series and eventually, securing playoff basketball.
In the postseason, the Lakers found some key players outside of the superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Hachimura and second-year player, Austin Reaves, had a major breakout moment in game one with 29 and 23 points respectively. Russell and Vanderbilt also became regulars to the rotation and even consistent members of the team’s starting five with Vanderbilt being noted for his defense on Golden State Warrior’s Stephen Curry in the second-round series and Russell bringing offensive prowess to this series.
However, as the team approached the Western Conference Finals, they were met with the conference’s number one seed, the Denver Nuggets, and they proved to be a challenge for this Laker’s squad. In what ultimately led to their first-ever ring, the Nuggets swept the Lakers in a 4-0 win, ending the Lakers’ run once and for all.
Now, Laker Nation (team, front office, and fans alike) are left with questions to address as they figure out what to do in the offseason.
Free Agents and Replacing Players
Free Agents of the Current Roster
D’Angelo Russell (PG, Unrestricted)
Dennis Schroeder (PG, Unrestricted)
Lonnie Walker IV (SG, Unrestricted)
Troy Brown Jr. (SG, Unrestricted)
Austin Reaves (SG, Restricted)
Malik Beasley (SG, Club Option)
Rui Hachimura (PF, Restricted)
Wenyen Gabriel (PF, Unrestricted)
Tristan Thompson (C, Unrestricted)
The Lakers have a void to fill at the point guard position amid whether they plan on bringing back D’Angelo Russell or not. Russel had some good games and bad games during the end half of the season and disappeared for most of the playoffs. Do the Lakers try to bring him back and have questions about his productivity or try to deal with him? The Lakers have decisions to make on re-signing both Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. Also, the Lakers should consider bringing back Tristan Thompson, who played well in the playoffs, Lonnie Walker, Jared Vanderbilt, Troy Brown Jr., and Dennis Schroder, to name a few players.
A point guard for the future is what the Lakers should aim for this offseason with the point guard field in free agency being stacked. A name to look out for is Fred VanVleet who recently just declined his player option and could be in a sign-and-trade for Russell unless the Lakers run it back with the same team from this past season after the trade deadline.
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
The “Big” Problem
One major contributor to the Lakers’ knockout this year against the Nuggets had to do with size, and this may be something to prioritize in this transitional period.
During the 2020 championship run, the Lakers were noted for having a solid lineup of bigs who could take on the center role in the squad. With the likes of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, the ability to play Davis at the power forward role, without skimping on size or defense, was key to the success of their last ring. However, with Davis taking on the center role, although there was still some success due to Davis’ overall defensive prowess and ability to dominate the paint on multiple fronts, Davis’ role as the designated big highlighted a major issue of size depth in the squad. This was further highlighted by Tristan Thompson’s limited role in this year’s postseason as well as an injury from one of the team’s true centers, Mo Bamba.
Nelson Chenault/USA Today Sports
With this lack of size depth, Ham often defaulted to the infamous three-guard lineup, which prioritizes pace over size. In some cases, there was some success. With smaller teams, such as the Golden State Warriors (who they faced in round two of the playoffs), they could attack the paint and dominate a perimeter-reliant side without worrying about size. However, this quickly proved to be an unsustainable method with this three-guard lineup ending the first quarter of the Western Conference Final’s game one in a 12-point deficit.
With this in mind, the Lakers need to prioritize the role of number five when it comes to new players. That way, the Lakers will not only allow Davis to play in his most comfortable role and improve spacing between James and Davis, but they will also be able to better execute plays on the offensive and defensive side with a more complete squad.
Contributing Author: Alexandra Kim
