The Lakers have spent the offseason acting like a team determined to cover every base, but there’s still a hole in the picture. Los Angeles has added multiple new pieces and made trades, yet the roster remains unfinished and more moves are expected before the team reaches the legal limit.
That’s why Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer says there’s still room for something bigger to happen.
“I think there's plenty of time here before they have to make a decision. They do, I believe, still want to make some type of trade upgrade at the wing/forward spot after missing out on Jonathan Kuminga. I do think the Lakers are incomplete right now moving forward," Fischer said.
Even with that in mind, there’s a separate move that could end up nagging the Lakers if it pays off elsewhere. On Monday, former first-round pick Devin Carter agreed to a deal with the Boston Celtics.
“The Boston Celtics and Devin Carter have agreed to a deal, league sources told hoopshype. Carter will compete for an NBA roster or two-way spot in camp. Carter averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18.4 minutes during 38 games for the Sacramento Kings last season," HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto wrote.
Carter now gets a shot with a Celtics organization that has shown it can squeeze real value out of young players. Lake Show Life’s Svyatoslav Rovenchuk pointed to that track record while making the case that this is the kind of swing the Lakers may wish they had taken themselves.
“Even so, the Celtics have proven capable of turning around the careers of young guys and morphing them into role players of late. Neemias Queta serves as the most recent example. If the Lakers watch that kind of transformation happen to Carter from a distance, there will be inevitable disappointment in not taking the risk themselves,” Rovenchuk wrote.
Carter was cut by the Atlanta Hawks because he didn’t have a spot there, but that doesn’t mean the league is done with him. The appeal is obvious: he’s still viewed as a capable player with a chance to carve out an NBA future, and Boston is now the team trying to unlock it.
The Lakers had a chance to take that swing. They didn’t. And if Carter turns into something useful in Boston, that decision will look a lot louder as the season rolls on.
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Silver said the league found no red flags during that process, even as allegations continue to swirl around Walters broader investment empire. Now the next step sits with the league again, after Walter agreed to sell his stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, a deal that still needs NBA approval and keeps the franchises ownership picture very much in motion. [Read more 🡒]