1. Stop signing players to one-year deals
The one-year deals the Lakers front office has been handing out the last couple of years have to stop. Players can’t play well under the duress of a one-year deal and that has been killing the Lakers on and off the court for too long now.
Magic and Pelinka must stop acting like a little kid in a candy shop unable to decide between a chocolate bar or a lollipop; they need to find good, solid players to help fill out the roster and sign them to at least 2-year deals.
Here’s what the Lakers roster should, realistically, look like next year:
Starters:
- Nikola Vucevic
- Kyle Kuzma
- LeBron James
- Brandon Ingram
- Lonzo Ball
Bench:
- Cory Joseph
- Josh Hart
- Terrence Ross
- Moritz Wagner
- Joakim Noah (He has one of the highest DEFRTG’s in the league this year)
- 2019 lottery pick
That’s a playoff team for sure, but if Ingram, Kuzma, and Ball work hard over the summer and they continue to grow and improve, the lineup I showed above could be a championship contender next year.