With the offseason here for the Los Angeles Lakers, here are five goals for them in the summer.
This offseason is incredibly crucial for the future of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. The past five years have been the worst stretch in Laker history and the offseason has the potential to reverse that misfortune if they reach their goals.
General Manager Rob Pelinka and team President Magic Johnson will be in their second offseason and it will be time to deliver on the promises they made when they were hired. They vowed to land big free agents to improve the roster that the previous Lakers regime failed to impress and they have a great opportunity to do so.
Even though that is the number one goal this offseason, there are still many other areas where the Lakers can look to improve the roster.
Their first step is to draft a player to add to the young core with the pick that they acquired in their trade with the Cavaliers. They also have multiple pending free agents this offseason, and they will have to make big decisions on if they want to re-sign veterans like Isaiah Thomas, Brook Lopez, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Julius Randle.
There are many different directions the front office could take this offseason, and these five goals should be at the forefront of their plan.
5. Waive and Stretch Luol Deng’s Contract
The Lakers signing Luol Deng for four years and $72 million free agency is one of the worst signings in recent memory. In a panic to save their jobs, Mitch Kupchack and Jim Buss signed two veterans to massive contracts in 2016 and they both turned out to be duds.
Deng was one of the singings and Timofey Mozgov was the other, and the Lakers are still feeling the negative effects of those moves. They already got up from under Mozgov’s contract by trading DeAngelo Russell along with him, but it is unlikely they will find a team wiling to take Deng’s contract in a similar move.
Their best option is to actually extend Luol Deng’s contract. This may seem ludicrous, but they can save themselves cap space if they decide to waive and stretch him this summer. The last NBA collective bargaining agreement made a provision that allows any team to waive a player and stretch the rest of his guaranteed money over twice the remaining length of the contract, plus one year.
Currently the Lakers still owe Deng $36.8 million over the next two seasons, and they would have to pay him over $18 million a season if they stick to his original deal. If they use the waive and stretch they can bring that number down to 7.4 million over 5 seasons, and that would open up a significant amount of cap space to retain players or sign free agents.
4. Find a back up point guard
Watching the Lakers last season, it was obvious that they were thin at the point guard position. So much so that they had inexperienced guys like Tyler Ennis and Alex Caruso getting minutes at certain points in the year.
The main reason why, is because Lonzo Ball missed so many games last season with multiple injuries. It was tough for the Lakers to win without him and at one point they lost 9 straight games with him sidelined.
Mid-season acquisition Isaiah Thomas was able to fill in nicely before he hurt his hip. However, the Lakers might be weary to bring him back because he will be coming off of surgery and looking for big money.
The best way the Lakers can remedy their point guard depth is if they find a proven veteran in the free agent market. Not only could they provide a solid presence on the court, but they could also help mentor young point guard Lonzo Ball. Cory Joseph will be a free agent and he could be an intriguing cheaper option if they went that route.
Their other alternative is to find a back up point guard in the draft. The Lakers currently hold the 25th pick in the draft, so they will have to do their homework to find an NBA ready point guard that late in round one.
Watching the NCAA tournament it was obvious that the eventual champion Villanova had a terrific point guard in Jalen Brunson. He could be a great option if he is still available when the Lakers are on the clock and it would reunite him with his old college teammate Josh Hart.
3. Get another steal with their draft pick
Finding hidden gems late in the first and second round has been the Lakers specialty in recent drafts. That can be attributed to the great scouting department lead by Jesse Buss, that found Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart who all contributed early in their Laker careers.
They will have to do that again this season, because their draft pick is not until late in the first round. Even though the Lakers were a lottery team, the Celtics own the right to their pick through a series of trades. There is a ton of talent in this years draft class, so they could still find a quality talent at the end of the first round.
With so many players questionable to return to the Lakers next season, they can pretty much draft the best player available and it will still fill a need. Multiple starters could leave via free agency and that would leave holes at shooting guard, power forward, and center.
A few players at those positions rumored to be available when the Lakers pick include power forward/ center Chimezie Metu, shooting guard Jalen Hudson, and shooting guard Landry Shamet. Metu could be a solid rim protector and has great athleticism. The other two prospects could provide the Lakers with some much needed three-point shooting.
2. Re-sign one or more of their pending free agents
A bunch of key contributors from last season could be on a new team after this offseason. Lopez, Caldwell-Pope, Ennis, Thomas, and Randle are all free agents and every one of those guys re-signing is unlikely.
Signing one or more of from that group presumably would be the back up plan if they fail in landing James, George, or Cousins. If that does happen, they might look to bring back Lopez and KCP on one-year deals, similar to the one Pope signed last summer.
The best player out of the group is restricted free agent Randle, and it would be hard to see him walk for nothing. He is also the most realistic one out of the group to come back to the team and should be their number one priority to bring back.
However, another team could put in a huge offer for him because he is coming off of a career season. That would put the Lakers in a difficult position and they might not be able to match the offer if they want to pursue other free agents. Bringing back Randle on a long-term deal, while still adding a max free agent would be the ideal scenario here.
1. Get two max players through trade or free agency
The list of superstar players that could switch teams this offseason is staggering. Franchise changing players like LeBron James, Paul George, and DeMarcus Cousins are all available and the Lakers are expected to be in talks with all three of them this offseason. The Lakers are one of the only teams in the league with the cap flexibility to sign two max players because of the trade they made at the deadline.
However, they have not convinced a star free agent to come to Los Angeles this decade, and that is why they need to make a major splash this year. With Magic Johnson making the pitch it becomes more likely, but if they do not get any of the big three targets then their previous moves to free up $70 million in cap space look suspect.
After the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first round exit, Paul George looks more likely to come to the Lakers this offseason. LeBron has also had to carry the Cavaliers a ton in the playoffs, so he is might want to take his talent somewhere else as well.
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The other option for them is to trade some of their young players for an all-star on the block. The best player on the trading block this offseason is certainly the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard, but they have already come out and said that they do not want to help teams within the western conference. Yet if the best trade package comes from the Lakers, it will be hard to deny the offer.
If the Lakers accomplished this goal it would put them immediately into the title conversation, a place they haven’t been since 2012.