Insider Throws Cold Water on Rumors Lakers Are Adding Superstar

Getty Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the throes of a head coaching search right now but there are also some major roster decisions that need to be made. There’s been a number of rumors linking the team to superstars like Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell but those might be overblown.

According to The Atheltic’s Jovan Buha, the Lakers could favor building out the rest of the roster with a strong supporting cast instead of trying to build a super team.

“As far as what I think the Lakers are going to do, my sense is they are leaning more toward upgrading the supporting cast rather than the three-star model and I say that for a couple reasons. One, it’s difficult to trade for a star,” Buha said on the May 29 episode of “Buha’s Block.” “There’s going to be a lot of competition this offseason, so I think if a star is willing to demand a trade and say that they only want to go to the Lakers or make it a very short list where the Lakers have the assets to compete with the teams on that list then, sure, I think the Lakers can land that type of star.

“But there’s also a lot of uncertainty right now where we don’t know which star is going to be available in Cleveland, is Donovan Mitchell going to accept that extension and then Darius Garland is the one asking out, or is Donovan Mitchell going to reject the extension offer and all of a sudden he is available? We don’t know which star guard is going to be available in Atlanta. We don’t know if there’s going to be another star that becomes available. Is Mikal Bridges available in Brooklyn? There’s still a lot of uncertainty as of right now in terms of which stars are actually going to be available closer to the draft and free agency when the Lakers would be potentially looking to make a big, splashy trade.”

This is a similar direction the Lakers took last offseason and it may have looked like a better decision in hindsight had the team not dealt with serious injuries from Jarred Vanderbilt, Christan Wood and Gabe Vincent throughout the season.

Teams Are Moving Away From Building Superteams

It’s becoming clearer that superteams rarely work. The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics are in the NBA Finals right now and both teams are built around two stars with strong supporting casts. Teams like the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns tried to win with superteams but both were out in the first round of the playoffs.

The Lakers also tried to go the superteam route when they traded for Russell Westbrook in 2021. The team missed the playoffs in the one full season with Westbrook and got back into the playoff race after they traded him the following season. It’s easy to see why the Lakers wouldn’t want to go that route again.

Is There a Star That’s the Right Fit for the Los Angeles Lakers?

The best argument for why the Lakers should add another star involves LeBron James‘ age. He’s going to turn 40 during the season and it’s hard to imagine he’ll keep playing for much longer. If the team can add a younger superstar, they’d give Anthony Davis a running mate for years to come.

Young has been linked to the Lakers but Mitchell would have to be more appealing. He’s bigger than Young and isn’t as prone to turning the ball over. Mikal Bridges would also have to be interesting due to his elite defensive ability. Pairing him with Davis would give the Lakers one of the best defensive duos in the league.