What to expect from the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason?
This offseason is going to be very important to the Los Angeles Lakers once again because the moves they make in free agency will ultimately decide their fate come time for the postseason. Figuring out who will make the most impact for them is a tricky situation to be in and as a result, the Lakers will not be able to bring back everybody.
If the Lakers opt to bring back both Dennis Schroder and Alex Caruso, then they could potentially have to part ways with guys like Talen Horton-Tucker, Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell. If they opt not to bring back Schroder, then the Lakers could potentially free up some room to potentially add a third All-Star to their roster.
On top of free agency and the draft, the Lakers could once again be looking to make moves on the trade market since they may not have a ton of cap space to make big moves aside from retaining some of their pending free agents. There have been a lot of talks league-wide about the availability of Kyle Kuzma and NBA Analysis Network’s Evan Massey reported that the Lakers will be exploring trade opportunities for Kuzma in the offseason.
With Kuzma reportedly available in trade talks this offseason, the Lakers could potentially look to move him in order to free up a large chunk of cap space. Kuzma is owed $13M next season, after signing a three-year extension with the Lakers, but did underperform in the postseason when they needed him with Anthony Davis being out. Of the teams potentially interested in Kuzma, the Thunder and Kings seem like two plausible destinations, according to Massey.
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LeBron James and Anthony Davis continue to be the hierarchy of this Lakers’ team and moving forward, they are going to continue finding ways to build around their two superstars. Who comes back and who will be on the move in the offseason remains the “million dollar question” for the Los Angeles Lakers to answer.
Expect to see the Lakers be aggressive in their search for more talent once again and come draft night, we should have a clearer answer on what the Lakers are thinking in terms of the contract situations of Schroder, Caruso, Horton-Tucker and others.
