The Los Angeles Lakers understand the value of star power, no doubt about it. However, for a team based around Hollywood, what has gotten lost on Rob Pelinka and the front office over the years is the value behind having a strong supporting cast.
When the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers duked it out in seven games during the 2025 NBA Finals, it should have been crystal clear that a deep and versatile roster became the model for success. The Lakers dabbled with that last offseason, but came up brutally short.
Letting Dorian Finney-Smitth walk in favor of multiple additions proved to be the right move over and over. The problem was they failed to truly hit on all of the players who arrived in lieu of Finney-Smith.
That brought them to where they are today: enjoying a trip to Cancun after being eliminated by the Thunder in the second round of the NBA Playoffs amid missing their franchise superstar. While the Lakers struggled to replace Luka Doncic, OKC were coasting without Jalen Williams. It led to Dan Woike and Sam Amick reporting at least one person in LA saying what everyone else was thinking.
The pair wrote: “We just don’t have enough good players,' one locker room source lamented."
Lakers can't miss their moment to properly fill out roster this offseason
The second-round matchup against the Thunder had the Lakers at a clear disadvantage in the depth department all series long. It invited an uncomfortable thought in the process.
How many of Oklahoma City's end of rotation, or even end of bench guys, would get a fair crack at playing on the Lakers? The answer may not be a comfortable one to truly ponder for LA fans.
The good news is they will have free-agent money and trade assets to pursue catching up to the rest of the league. That still means the Lakers need to get their player scouting right. Thankfully, the Lakers are moving in the right direction there.
Amick and Woike added: "Pelinka is expected to add at least one assistant general manager while building out a pro scouting department that the Lakers haven’t had since parting ways with pro personnel man Ryan West in 2019."
This should allow the Lakers more voices to properly identify who fits with Doncic amid their retool. Perhaps then they can finally be up to speed with the rest of the NBA contenders. Just look around the league.
The Thunder have already been mentioned. The San Antonio Spurs, who are favored to meet them in the Western Conference Finals, have an elite superstar at the top in Victor Wembanyama, but are also supporting him with a long list of capable rotation players.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks appear to be the favorites to win that side of the bracket. This comes after dumping Tom Thibodeau in favor of Mike Brown, who prefers a more balanced approach with his rotations, and arming him with several new pieces for that strategy.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons are going head-to-head for the right to face the Knicks in the next round. Both of those teams have a strong cast of players who can all contribute in multiple ways.
This should paint a clear picture about the blueprint. LeBron James even subtly highlighted it after Game 3 when remarking over the amount of people who can affect multiple areas of the game over on the Thunder. The Lakers need an escape to this depth crisis immediately.
Add us as a preferred source on Google