The Lakers’ summer has opened with a string of losses that leaves the front office staring at a far messier picture than it wanted.
NBA free agency is still in its early stages, but Los Angeles has already watched four names slip away. Robert Williams is set to re-sign with the Portland Trail Blazers.
LeBron James will not be back in Los Angeles. Marcus Smart has agreed with the Houston Rockets.
Luke Kennard is headed to the Phoenix Suns. However you slice it, that’s a brutal start.
The one move the Lakers did make - trading for Walker Kessler - comes with its own questions. The deal looks like a clear overpay in both assets and salary, especially after losing out on a springy defensive center, their second-best player, their defensive pit bull, and a sharpshooter.
LeBron’s departure may not have shocked everyone, but there was still a belief he might return on a pay cut. That option is gone now, and he could wind up with the Golden State Warriors instead.
There is still a long-term angle hanging over all of this. The Lakers are hoping Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic could be in play next summer, and even the possibility of that has already shaped how they approach this offseason.
That kind of thinking points to a quieter summer in terms of long-term commitments. The Lakers may avoid locking themselves into deals so they can preserve cap flexibility for next season. A sign-and-trade involving Austin Reaves could also be part of the conversation, though the bigger question is what they can realistically do right now.
At this point, a full run-it-back approach was never likely. But the Lakers have already brought back Reaves, and Deandre Ayton has opted in, which gives the roster some shape. It just may not be the same kind of team they rolled out last season.
And last season’s group, for all its limitations, still reached the second round without Luka Doncic.
The problem is that the path ahead looks steeper. The West is expected to be even tougher, with the Utah Jazz and Warriors possibly making the playoffs. That raises the degree of difficulty for Los Angeles in the short term and puts more pressure on GM Rob Pelinka to pull off something significant this offseason.
So far, though, the Lakers have started with a harsh reality check.
In Other News...
Anthony Davis Just Reopened A Frustrating Lakers Debate Around Rob Pelinka
Anthony Davis' old frustration with the Lakers has been dragged back into the spotlight, and it has brought Rob Pelinkas center decisions with it. The debate dates to Daviss time in Los Angeles, when he made clear he preferred playing power forward and wanted another big next to him, a need the front office never really answered during his run with the team.
Now the conversation has flared again after the Lakers finally moved to add Walker Kessler, a deal that has prompted renewed criticism of Pelinka for waiting so long to address the position. Davis is with the Washington Wizards now, though his future there remains unsettled, and his own response to the resurfaced chatter said plenty without needing many words. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen A. Smith Just Took A Loaded Shot At The Lakers
The Lakers have spent the offseason reshaping their roster around a different kind of core, re-signing Austin Reaves and adding Walker Kessler to a group they believe can keep them competitive in a crowded West. With LeBron James no longer in the mix, the franchise is leaning into a younger, unfamiliar look that has drawn attention for reasons beyond basketball, especially because the new top end of the roster does not fit the mold most fans associate with recent title teams.
Stephen A. Smith turned that conversation into a national talking point this week, questioning whether Los Angeles can really contend with a lineup built this way and pointing to NBA history as part of his case. The reaction has been predictably heated, with some seeing a fair basketball debate and others calling it an unnecessary shot, but the larger question hanging over the Lakers is whether the roster can answer the criticism on the floor before it turns into a louder story. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Move On Quickly From Young Guard As Roster Churn Continues
The Lakers offseason has been moving on multiple tracks, and one of the more important is simply figuring out how much flexibility is left after the roster has already started to churn around the edges. While other teams around the league keep making calls on free agents and trade targets, Los Angeles has been tied to younger options such as Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili, the kind of moves that can shape the rest of the market and determine what the team can still offer elsewhere.
Around the league, the dominoes are falling fast enough to affect everyone, including the Lakers competition for depth and the bigger names still in play. Indiana has checked on several wing options while also seeing Thomas Bryant head elsewhere after strong interest in bringing him back, and Chicago has already moved on from guard Kam Jones before his deal became guaranteed, another reminder of how quickly roster spots are being cleared and reassigned this summer. [Read more 🡒]