The Los Angeles Lakers still have steps to take before they can feel confident about competing for next season’s championship.
To their credit, the Lakers have had a transitional summer with the many moves they have made. It is clear that they are trying to assemble the best collection of talent around Luka Doncic, but is the work they’ve done so far enough?
“The Lakers might have been the busiest team of the summer,” ESPN’s Zach Kram wrote. “But did all that activity make them better, or were they merely running in place? In came (Walker) Kessler, (Sandro) Mamukelashvili, (Quentin) Grimes, (Collin) Sexton, (Kevon) Looney, Jaden Hardy, (Matisse) Thybulle and (Ziaire) Williams. Out went (LeBron) James, (Rui) Hachimura, (Marcus) Smart, (Luke) Kennard, (Deandre) Ayton and (Jaxson) Hayes. … The Lakers mostly did well with depth signings such as Thybulle and Williams. But it’s hard to overcome not replacing James’ production, even in his 40s. They have less flexibility now, and it’s hard to say with confidence that they’re any closer to title contention.”
The Lakers Have Needs to Address … And Not Many Options
L.A. has holes at the backup center and power forward positions. That has led to speculation about which player the team could pursue in a trade, with Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. being one of the frequently linked players to the Lakers. While there haven’t been any reports that the Lakers are interested in Jones, team analyst Trevor Lane believes the Clippers wouldn’t even do business with their inner-town rivals.
“I don’t see the Clippers doing business with the Lakers unless they’re getting something significant from the Lakers,” Lane said in a video on the Lakers Nation YouTube channel. “That’s the problem. They’re only gonna make a trade with the Lakers if they’re fleecing the Lakers; they’re one of those teams. You know how that goes.”
Jones, 29, averaged 10.1 points per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from the 3-point line. He is only 6’6” but has long proven to be a strong utility-knife player. The Lakers could use help in the frontcourt, where Jones often plays for the Clippers. But the veteran swingman may not be an option after all.
Even if the Lakers tried to blow away their rivals with an offer, they probably couldn’t; the Lakers have limited tradeable picks and not much young talent to toss around in a deal.
The Direction L.A. Could Go
Lane believes the Lakers have two realistic options on their hands.
“I think the Lakers have two moves in them that are substantial,” Lane said. And move No. 1 is using your assets that you have remaining — and that’s your pick swap, your three second rounders and whatever contract you can cobble together — and trade for somebody. And move No. 2 is using that midlevel exception. So my only challenge with this is if this is everything, that means you’re using the cap space you would have from the midlevel exception next summer, you’re using that flexibility, plus you’re using your assets.”
Lane added that there is a chance the Lakers could get a deal of some sort done with the Clippers, even for Jones, in light of the NBA’s investigation into the team for salary cap circumvention.
With the Clippers deficient in draft picks, Lane believes there may be an opportunity for the Lakers to entice their L.A. rivals by attaching one of either its first round pick swap or second round picks to a deal.
Lakers Get Bad News as Derrick Jones Jr. Trade Expected to Be Denied by Clippers