The Los Angeles Lakers‘ championship-defense season ended much sooner than any fan would have expected. The Lakers were knocked out of the NBA Playoffs in the first round by the Phoenix Suns and have some soul searching to do as they head into the offseason.
Things simply did not break the Lakers’ way this season. The team battled injuries all season and it wound up being the injury bug that cost them in the playoffs. Anthony Davis getting hurt took away the team’s biggest matchup advantage against Phoenix and LeBron James was very obviously not himself after the high ankle sprain.
While injuries are definitely the reason why the Lakers were eliminated as early as they were, there were still some holes in this roster that would have made it harder to win the NBA Championship than the year prior.
The Los Angeles Lakers were missing much-needed things on this roster.
Rob Pelinka and the front office are going to go back to the drawing board and with so many free agents this offseason, there is a good chance that we see a completely different Lakers team around LeBron James and Anthony Davis next season.
And quite frankly, there should be, as this team has too many holes to simply run it back without making certain additions.
Here are the three things that the Lakers desperately need to look for in the offseason, whether it comes from the NBA Draft, free agency, or trades.