As the Los Angeles Lakers look to maximize their remaining competitive window with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the biggest looming uncertainty remains how they will build out next season’s roster.
With almost a month until the NBA Draft and a month until free agency, the Lakers’ top priority is finding the franchise’s next head coach. But just as important, if not more so, will be the caliber of roster the Lakers provide him.
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The Lakers are expected to be aggressive on the trade market, as The Athletic previously reported. Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka hinted at the 2024 trade deadline that part of the calculus for not making a deal then was the moves the organization could make around the draft, which begins June 26, when they will have access to trade three of their first-round picks (2024 or 2025, 2029 and 2031).
“In terms of what was available at the trade deadline, we had one first-round draft pick,” Pelinka said on Feb. 8. “It was our only sort of hook to fish with. And this summer, in June, we, at the time of the draft, we’ll have three first-round draft picks to look for deals, which I think will really unlock an access to potentially a greater or bigger swing. And we didn’t want to shoot a bullet now that would only lead to very marginal improvement at the expense of making a much bigger and more impactful movement potentially in June and July.”
There are two feasible paths for the Lakers: modest moves with their midsized contracts to upgrade the supporting cast around James and Davis, or a larger swing with the bulk of their assets to acquire a third All-Star-caliber player.
Pelinka noted at the deadline there weren’t many sellers then or “marquee” players available. That could be the case again this summer, with a couple of Western Conference teams hoping to leap into the Play-In Tournament (Houston, Memphis, possibly San Antonio) and the relatively low threshold to enter the Eastern Conference Play-In mix. In the case that high-level players become available — be it stars or notable role players — the asking prices almost certainly will be astronomical given the competition to acquire such talent.
Roughly a few weeks out from free agency, it’s still unclear which stars will be available on the trade market. Cleveland (Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland) and Atlanta (Trae Young and Dejounte Murray) reportedly are likely to split up their respective backcourts. The Cavaliers are trying to get Mitchell to sign an extension, which would rule him out from being traded this summer, according to The Athletic. But until there is more clarity on which player (or players) will be available, the Lakers, like other potential suitors, can only theorize the nature of their offers.
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Young has been linked to the Lakers for a while, though some around the league believe his switch of representation from Klutch Sports to CAA earlier this month has decreased the odds he lands in Los Angeles if he becomes available. (James and Davis are two of Klutch Sports’ most notable clients.) Regardless, it’s unclear if every key Lakers’ stakeholder would want to aggressively pursue him.
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Young is one of many names that’ll be discussed internally by the Lakers over the coming weeks, a list that includes Mitchell, Garland and Murray — the third of which the Lakers pursued ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. Each situation will come down to the asking price and opportunity cost. Even so, the Lakers’ best offer could be outbid by teams such as Houston, Miami, Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
Nonetheless, Pelinka hinted at the deadline that the Lakers are willing to make a bold offer for the right player or players.
“If the right move would’ve been there at the right price, we would’ve pulled the trigger,” Pelinka said. “We’re not fearful of using future assets for now. It’s just gotta be using future assets for the now in the right way and the right deal.”
At the same time, part of the reason the Lakers moved on from head coach Darvin Ham was they felt the existing team underachieved in the regular season and playoffs. They are still confident in the core members of the team; perhaps the group may be only a marginal upgrade or two away from contending in the West alongside the likes of Dallas, Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City next season.
The Lakers would also prefer to keep Austin Reaves, according to team and league sources. They refrained from including him in trade talks for Murray at the 2024 trade deadline and Kyrie Irving at the 2023 trade deadline. Reaves’ playoff performances in 2023 and 2024 have affirmed his fit around James and Davis.
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There is one more potential wrinkle in the Lakers’ team-building plans: James, who has a $51.4 million player option for 2024-25, recently highlighted the need for teams to have quality role players and depth. In Episode 8 of the “Mind The Game” podcast with JJ Redick, a candidate for the Lakers’ coaching vacancy, James praised the supporting casts of the four conference finalists (Boston, Indiana, Dallas and Minnesota), noting that “these games have been won by the MVPs of the role players.”
“If there’s teams out here looking to see how to be successful, obviously you gotta have a star,” James said. “You gotta have one, possibly two, that’s gonna make sure that everybody stays even-keeled. But at the end of the day, you gotta have those soldiers around, man. You gotta have the consiglieres and the capos and the rest of those guys that’s gonna be ready to go, man. And that’s what we see at the final four right now in the NBA.”
The harsh reality of the new collective bargaining agreement is that the salary-cap rules make it difficult to put together a team built around three players with contracts commensurate to stars. The penalties for crossing the first apron (projected at a $179.7 million team salary) and second apron (projected at $189.5 million) are substantial. Teams over the second apron, for example, cannot trade first-round picks seven years in the future, they lose their midlevel exception, are limited to 100 percent salary-matching in trades and cannot combine multiple players in a deal, among several other restrictions.
The Lakers project to have approximately $103.7 million in committed salary to eight players entering the offseason, not including the player options of James ($51.4 million), D’Angelo Russell ($18.7 million), Jaxson Hayes ($2.5 million) and Cam Reddish ($2.5 million). That’s also before factoring in Max Christie’s restricted free agency, the potential use of the No. 17 and No. 55 picks and the remaining free-agent cap holds. Los Angeles projects to operate as an over-the-cap team that likely pushes past the first apron while viewing the second apron as an unofficial hard cap.
Before James’ June 29 player-option deadline, the Lakers have the opportunity to improve the roster. Beginning on draft night, they can start moving their first-round picks during and after the draft. As The Athletic previously reported, the Lakers are prepared to offer James whatever type of contract he wants this season. League sources told The Athletic that the opt-in and opt-out routes are both on the table, and the leading scorer in NBA history is expected to play up to two more seasons.
They also will have hired a head coach by then, although James has made it clear he’s distancing himself from the process and allowing the franchise to make the decision on its own. The Lakers interviewed New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday, team and league sources confirmed to The Athletic. (The Los Angeles Times was the first to report Borrego’s interview.) Borrego, as The Athletic previously reported, has a good rapport with Davis, which is an important factor for Los Angeles during its coaching search.
Still, the buzz Redick is garnering around the league has only increased over the past week, with many believing Redick is the front-runner to land the position. In the meantime, the Lakers are still going through a thorough search process, with more in-person interviews to conduct.
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Only time will tell what opportunities will present themselves to the Lakers over the coming weeks — and which direction they’ll ultimately go this offseason. No matter what, though, this promises to be a monumental summer full of important decisions.
(Top photo: Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images)
