Familiar faces make their way back
After the disappointing first-round exit following the championship run in 2020, general manager Rob Pelinka initially approached the 2022 season with the right ideas. Bringing the band that won the championship back together and having Anthony Davis playing prominently at the five.
Therefore, keeping intact the core from the last three seasons while attempting to retrieve the ones that had left LA in the intervening time would have been the most pressing task for the front office. No big trades mean Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sticking in town.
The two, shipped in the Westbrook deal are in hindsight experiencing individual success in Washington. Kuzma, averaging 16.4 points as a starter, is having the best mark since his sophomore year while grabbing a career-high 8.8 rebounds. KCP, despite a lackluster playoff performance with the Lakers last season, has returned to his normal production and remains an elite defensive player.
Montrezl Harrell would have probably opted out of his contract to find better fortunes with another team, and this would pave the way to the return of Dwight Howard, as happened anyway.
Rajon Rondo, traded by the Los Angeles Clippers and waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, would have welcomed a return to the Lakers, this time with a bigger role than what he has been actually granted with this messy roster. As his current stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers proves, he still has something to give to the game of basketball beyond his sheer off-the-charts IQ. The role of veteran leader coming off the bench to guide the second unit would have fit him nicely.
Rob Pelinka would still have understandably given Talen Horton-Tucker the three-year, $30 million extension he received, something we should not mind. Despite the disappointing season he is having, the kid is still 21 years old, showing flashes of potential on both sides of the floor, and let’s not forget he is playing on a dysfunctional team, stuffed with veterans, where rotations change constantly without defined roles.
Holding off on him does not look like a bad idea.
But most importantly, the Lakers should have re-signed Alex Caruso, entrusting him the starting point guard role without resorting to external additions to fill the spot.
The LA fan-favorite signed with the Chicago Bulls as a free agent for a ludicrous four-year, $37 million contract and he admittedly was ready to accept a little bit less to remain in Los Angeles. It should have been a no-brainer for Pelinka, but he made a horrible mistake. His loss remains irreplaceable.
Finally, the Lakers would have found Avery Bradley available at the eleventh hour, as happened in actuality, able to sign him to a minimum deal.
With a possible starting lineup consisting of Caruso at the point, Davis in the middle and Caldwell-Pope and Bradley on the wing, this team would have been a defensive juggernaut, while having the luxury to count on LeBron and AD leading the charge on offense.