There have been a lot of discussions this offseason about the direction of the Los Angeles Lakers. After a disastrous 2021-22 NBA season, in which they missed the postseason with a 33-49 record despite having championship aspirations coming into the season, it is anyone’s guess what direction the team will head in.
As long as LeBron James is on the roster, the aim will be to win championships. He isn’t going to be part of a rebuild and Rob Pelinka will be tasked with upgrading the roster back to becoming contenders.
Turning things around in one offseason, especially with how poorly things went last season, is a tall task. Los Angeles doesn’t have many assets to upgrade the roster with as they lack tradable players and draft capital. Not to mention, they will have a first-time head coach in Darvin Ham at the helm, as he is taking over for Frank Vogel, who lasted three seasons as head coach.
Unless something drastic changes between now and the regular season, this could very well be another underwhelming season for the purple and gold. They need to find a way to move Russell Westbrook, but that is easier said than done.
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No teams are lining up to acquire him. Some trade discussions have been held, but negotiations don’t get very far because teams are asking the Lakers to include not one, but two first-round picks in the deal. That is a steep asking price, but for a team looking to contend with LeBron James in the mix, it is something they should seriously consider.
It was only two years ago that the Lakers won a championship with James and Anthony Davis as the focal point of the team and strong role players around them. That is a tried and true formula for success with James-led teams. Getting back to that, if possible, would make sense.
But, the Lakers could also keep trying to make a big move and acquire Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets. Irving has been connected to the Lakers for a few weeks, as many people believe ending up in Los Angeles and teaming up with James again is inevitable.
If the Lakers could pull that trade off this season, they would become contenders once again with a Big 3 of James, Davis and Irving. But, there is a chance they will have to wait until the next offseason to acquire him, as the Nets aren’t going to just give him away for free, especially not to the team he wants to play for.
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Irving is set to become a free agent in 2023 and all signs point to the Lakers being contenders to sign him. If that is something Los Angeles can pull off, the trajectory of their franchise changes drastically.
Waiting until the next offseason would mean it is fair to presume the Lakers were unable to trade Westbrook, which remains entirely possible to be the case. That means they likely have their draft capital remaining and another first-round pick would come available since the 2030 selection would be eligible for trade.
That would give the Lakers a chance to build another trade package to upgrade the team. Signing Irving, who turned 30 in March, would also give the Lakers a little bit of a foundation heading into the future.
He and Davis could combine to be the pillars that the franchise relies on once James is ready to sail off into retirement. He has made it clear that he wants to finish his career playing alongside his son, Bronny, who is eligible for the 2024 draft.
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The Lakers have a delicate balancing act to pull off, as they want to make the team as competitive as possible as long as LeBron James is around. However, they also need to begin preparing for life after him and having two superstars in Irving and Davis in place would make that transition much easier.
Suffering through one more losing season will be tough to stomach, but it could be worthwhile in the long run. Surrendering more assets to marginally improve the roster this season when a player of Irving’s caliber will be available next offseason seems short-sighted. Unless the move is to bring Irving in for this season, the Lakers are better off staying put, riding things out and signing him as a free agent in 2023.
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