The optimism in Laker land ran high after the Luka Doncic trade. It grew even larger when the Los Angeles Lakers exceeded most people's expectations and pieced things together as a contender fairly quickly. That hope was quickly dashed in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards and company put the final nail in the coffin on Wednesday night, eliminating the Lakers in Game 5 of the series after a tight 103-96 victory. Just like that, a promising season was over.
A lot of the Lakers' obvious issues and flaws were exposed in the first-round matchup. Rob Pelinka will need to start the prep earlier than expected to address those concerns in the offseason. There is plenty of work to be done before Los Angeles can truly be in the mix to bring an 18th banner to the rafters of Crypto.com Arena.
Biggest holes the Lakers will need to patch up
Starting off with the most obvious issue, the Lakers clearly need a center. The rescinded Mark Williams trade left the team with a glaring hole at the position. Despite masking it for a substantial time, it eventually came back to haunt them.
Having someone like Rudy Gobert walk out there in an elimination game and dominate your team for a 27-point, 24-rebound performance is far from ideal. Pelinka will need to ensure some stability down low.
There should be plenty of big men eager to join Los Angeles after seeing what Doncic can do to elevate the frontcourt players that the Lakers guard plays with. Whether it's a low-cost free agent signing, a trade with a team heading in the other direction, or both, the Lakers will take all the help they can get.
Another area in which the Lakers could certainly use a boost is the perimeter defense. The Timberwolves took advantage of the switch-heavy scheme that JJ Redick ran, forcing weaker defenders like Doncic or Austin Reaves onto mismatches.
Securing a reliable perimeter stopper would go a long way for the Lakers. It would be a massive bonus if that player was a knockdown 3-point shooter too.
Overall, the Lakers will flat-out need more depth. Scenarios like that of Game 4 when Redick was forced to play five players for an entire half should never happen. Having, at the bare minimum, 7-8 playable guys who can be belied upon in the postseason is a must.
The Lakers should be an attractive free agent destination in this upcoming offseason. Having a couple of role players take pay cuts to show off in a large market like Los Angeles, hoping for a bigger payday in the future, is a scenario Pelinka should welcome with open arms.