Getty Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make any trades at the trade deadline despite being in ninth place in the Western Conference standings and having the 26th ranked defense in the NBA.
Barring a miraculous turnaround, it doesn’t appear the purple and gold will win the championship this season despite having future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook leading the way.
If the season ended today, the Lakers would be in the play-in tournament. Since the play-in tournament was introduced in 2020, no seventh or eighth seed has advanced past the first round.
Even though LeBron is playing at an MVP level at the age of 37 and in his 19th season, the Lakers don’t have enough shooting around LBJ and Davis. Westbrook has also been too erratic, leading the NBA in turnovers.
The Lakers players won’t give up on the rest of the season, but their front office would be smart to start planning for the free agency period of 2022 and one insider believes a former All-NBA defender and one-time champion should be on general manager Rob Pelinka’s radar.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz: Serge Ibaka Should Be on Lakers’ Radar
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz believes the Lakers should pursue Serge Ibaka this summer. Ibaka was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Milwaukee Bucks at the trade deadline. He becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason and turns 33 next season.
“This is a team that needs to add talent on the cheap around its superstar nucleus, preferably players who didn’t hit their prime over a decade ago,” Swartz wrote. “The allure of playing in L.A. for the Lakers next to James and Davis should once again convince some ring-chasing vets to take a discount. Players such as Goran Dragic, Serge Ibaka, Jeremy Lamb, Tristan Thompson, Thaddeus Young and John Wall (if he ends up getting a buyout from the Houston Rockets) should all be on the Lakers’ radar this summer.”
A three-time All-NBA defender, two-time blocks champion and one-time champion, Ibaka has career averages of 12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Clippers and Bucks. The Lakers need rebounding and defensive help if they want to win another title while LeBron is on the team. Ibaka isn’t the elite rebounder and rim protector he used to be, but he’s still an upgrade over Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan.
Unlike Howard and Jordan, Ibaka can score from the perimeter. He’s a career 36.0% shooter from beyond the arc. The more guys who can shoot the ball around LeBron and Davis, the better the Lakers’ floor balance and offensive production will be.
Ibaka is making $9,720,900 this season. According to Swartz, the Lakers “have $149 million in salary committed for next season, meaning the team is already above the $147 million luxury-tax line with just seven players under contract.”
With that said, if the Lakers really want Ibaka, they will have to convince him to take a pay cut.
Lakers Can Only Get Ibaka if Big Man Takes Pay Cut
The Lakers have seven players under contract for next season. They are LeBron, Davis, Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Stanley Johnson and Austin Reaves. Pelinka and LeBron would have to persuade Ibaka to likely sign for the vet minimum.
We have seen proven veterans take discounts to play with LeBron in the past, so it will be fascinating to see if Ibaka takes that route. It’s worth mentioning, though, that Ibaka could win his second championship this season with the Bucks, who are the defending champions.
Milwaukee is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings and 7-3 over its last 10 games.
If Ibaka wins his second ring, he could possibly re-sign with the Bucks or retire. The Lakers are certainly hopeful the latter option doesn’t happen since they need all the help they can get in the interior.