LAS VEGAS — Though the Lakers have unanimously been considered one of the winners of the offseason, vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said Sunday that the organization is still looking to add one more key piece to its roster.
The Lakers re-signed Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell; signed Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish; and drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino (No. 17) and Maxwell Lewis (No. 40) this offseason, improving a group that lost to the champion Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
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The team’s one remaining hole is at center, where they only have two traditional options in Anthony Davis and Hayes. Pelinka made it clear that the organization is looking to add another big with their 14th roster spot before training camp in late September.
“We are actively in the market to add another big,” Pelinka said to a group of reporters during halftime of the Lakers’ 93-75 summer league win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
The Lakers are considering using more two-big lineups next season, a foundation of their championship run during the 2019-20 season. The hope is that the athletic 7-foot Hayes can complement Davis the way that Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee did that season.
“I think adding Jaxson Hayes was key to that,” Pelinka said. “I think Jaxson, much like maybe Dwight Howard in that stretch for us: big body, rim protector, active roller. … But we are looking to add an additional center as well.”
Centers Christian Wood and Bismack Biyombo are in consideration for that 14th roster spot, according to team sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Lakers had interest in Dario Saric before he signed with the Golden State Warriors earlier this week, those sources said. Pelinka clarified that Los Angeles is hoping to find a player that is different than Hayes from a skill-set perspective.
“I think dimensionalizing the skills at that position would be important,” Pelinka said. “So we don’t want to sign someone who replicates the skills that Jaxson Hayes has. So if we can diversify the big position and have different looks, that would be good.”
Biyombo is a hard-nosed rim protector who blocks shots, rebounds fairly well and sets solid screens. He’s a relatively limited offensive threat, especially outside the paint. Wood, who played with Davis in New Orleans during the 2018-19 season, is a skilled scorer and shooter. Despite his impressive per-game numbers (16.6 points with a 62.2 true shooting percentage and 7.3 rebounds with Dallas last season), he’s a below-average defender and has changed teams at a somewhat alarming rate for a player with his talent (seven teams in seven seasons).
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The Lakers are expected to use the veteran’s minimum for any big they sign. They saved money since Vincent’s 2023-24 salary is projected to start at around $10.5 million, roughly $1.9 million below the starting $12.4 million for the full non-taxpayer. Los Angeles has the flexibility to use that in free agency (a few months into the season) and, eventually, the buyout market, according to Pelinka.
“With the new CBA, eventually, you’re able to use the mid-level tool even for trades,” Pelinka said. “Not quite yet. But we were intentional about keeping some space and using that. It could come in handy. For instance, in the buyout market.”
Additionally, Pelinka addressed Hayes’ 2021 arrest for the first time. Hayes was sentenced in June 2022 to three years of probation, 450 hours of community service and a year of weekly domestic violence classes after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges that followed a domestic incident with his girlfriend in Woodland Hills, Calif., in July 2021.
“I think the most important thing is we take those things very seriously and do a full vetting process,” Pelinka said. “Jaxson has been very sincere (with) his apologies around handling that and has moved beyond it to where he’s had a year or two in the NBA playing after it. It was something that we felt like he owned, took responsibility for it, and is going to be a better person on the other side of it.”
As for arguably the most consequential matter for next season’s team, Pelinka refrained from speaking on the status of LeBron James, who hinted at retirement after the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the conference finals. Behind the scenes, the team has continued to operate as if James will be playing next season, with players and coaches referencing him when discussing next year’s group.
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“We’ve said before, we want to let LeBron speak about his plans and his future for himself,” Pelinka said. “It’s been great interacting with him over the offseason. … It was also nice to just see him celebrate the roster, once we completed it. A series of Instagram posts and different things, celebrating his teammates. And that’s just the leader LeBron is. He knows how to galvanize a group and bring them together, and we’re just excited that he’s behind that.”
Pelinka offered promising health updates on James (torn tendon in his right foot) and Davis (bone spur and stress reaction in his right foot). James and Davis played in every playoff game despite their ongoing ailments. James told ESPN he was going to have an MRI on his foot and undergo surgery this summer.
“We feel good about the offseason and the treatment that AD and LeBron are getting,” Pelinka said. “All the reports have been good around both those injuries, in terms of the guys being able to move past them.”
James missed 13 straight games from late February until late March because of his foot injury. The 38-year-old returned earlier than expected and never quite looked like his pre-injury version (perhaps outside of his masterful Game 4 performance against Denver). He was clearly limited physically in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Davis missed 20 straight games from mid-December until late January with his foot injury. Since the 2019-20 season, Davis has missed at least 26 games in each of the three subsequent seasons. The Lakers have a significant decision to make regarding his future in a few weeks: Davis is eligible for a three-year, $167.6 million extension starting on Aug. 4.
Pelinka cited the league’s collective bargaining agreement as a reason he can’t speak on the team’s intentions with Davis but spoke highly of his superstar big man. Davis and James each have two years remaining on their deals with the Lakers, including both having a player option for 2024-25.
“I wish the CBA allowed us to talk about negotiations … but there’s pretty strict rules around that,” Pelinka said. “… But couldn’t think more highly of Anthony Davis as a Laker and as a player. He’s helped deliver a championship to our franchise. He’s been an incredible captain and leader. We saw last year, willing to play through a hard foot injury to get our team to the Western Conference finals. So, just love having him as a part of our team.”
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Beyond retaining their core, one of the Lakers’ goals is adding more 3-point shooting with their new pieces. Los Angeles ranked 28th in 3-point makes per 100 possessions, 27th in 3-point attempts per 100 possessions and 25th in 3-point percentage last season. (Those percentage ranks jumped to 15th, 15th and 11th, respectively, among the 16 playoff teams.) Perimeter shooting has long been a weakness in the James-Davis era.
Vincent and Prince, in particular, are upgrades over their predecessors (Dennis Schroder and Troy Brown Jr., respectively). Vincent is a career 33.9-percent 3-point shooter but shot 37.8 percent in the finals run with Miami. Prince is a career 37.2-percent 3-point shooter who shot 38.1 percent last season. Hayes has flashed some 3-point ability, but doesn’t project to a floor-spacer; Reddish has been a low-volume, below-average 3-point shooter over his first four seasons.
“It was really important,” Pelinka said of the Lakers adding shooting. “I think, you know, we’re hopeful to get good shooting years out of Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince and also Cam Reddish. I think those are guys that LeBron and D’Angelo and our playmakers also, I think are going to create open looks for those guys in the corner. I think with the right spacing and the gravity that AD commands, those guys are going to get open looks.”
Considering the Lakers’ need for shooting and spacing around James and Davis, the Reddish signing was a bit of a surprise. Reddish has bounced around with three teams over his first four seasons and is a career 32.2-percent 3-point shooter. He has yet to prove he’s a rotation-caliber wing, let alone one on a contender.
But the Lakers are confident that assistant coach Chris Jent, who had a good relationship with Reddish when he coached him in Atlanta as a part of Lloyd Pierce and Nate McMillan’s staffs, can help unlock the potential that made Reddish the No. 10 pick in 2019.
“I think all the tools are there for Cam,” Pelinka said. “We have an assistant coach on Darvin’s staff, Chris Jent, who had Cam when he was with the Atlanta Hawks. He was a member of their staff and had a really good run with him where he had some really meaningful and impactful games in the playoffs where Cam made a difference. I believe in Darvin and his staff to be able to take a guy like that and get him back to playing confident basketball, efficient basketball.
“This was someone who was a (top-10) pick in the draft just a few years ago. So it’s there, and I’m excited for him to show it.”
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Pelinka is betting on Reddish fitting into his vision of a bigger roster that could better compete with the Nuggets. Los Angeles has a chance in the coming days or weeks to bolster those odds with further size.
“We’d like to be in the NBA finals next year,” Pelinka said. “And so the goal was to keep that roster, the central part of it, intact and add to it. We felt like we were able to accomplish that goal.”
(Top photo of Rob Pelinka introducing Lakers draft picks Jalen Hood-Schifino, right, and Maxwell Lewis in June: Ringo Chiu / SOPA Images via Associated Press)
