Los Angeles Lakers had a season filled with dramas. But after a successful trade phase before the February trade deadline, they seemed to save their campaign in the season. Against all odds, the Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals. But could not go any further. However, Los Angeles Lakers need to take care of their roster during the present offseason to succeed in the next season.
To make some room for the trades, the LA franchise may have to give up many players who they bought in February. For instance, D’Angelo Russell is an unrestricted free agent. But Rui Hachimura is a restricted free agent like Austin Reaves. Apparently, the Lakers might not want to trade Reaves and Hachimura by any means. But they may have to trade Malik Beasly and Mo Bamba, along with Jarred Vanderbilt. Unlike the other players, Austin Reaves joined Los Angeles Lakers in 2021. Hence, he is even tighter to the group. On top of that, a few names are emerging who could join the Lakers squad and help them lead in the next season. But who are they? Keep reading to find out.
Lakers In Dilemma; Who’ll They Buy?
The Lakers’ front office has to deal with the problem of cap space due to their top two stars. However, LeBron James has hinted retirement call after the WCF. Hence, there is uncertainty over his availability in the next season. In these complicated situations, it is hard to believe the front office would be willing to fulfill LeBron’s wish of signing Kyrie Irving. This link between him and the LA side has been going on for a long time. But the two parties have reached no agreement as of yet. Kyrie came to a few Lakers games in the playoffs as well, but nothing more happened.
However, ESPN’s Monica McNutt explains that it might be a good idea to reunite the 2016 championship duo. According to her, Kyrie Irving is not Russell Westbrook. There is no question about his skill level. Hence, it might help the Lakers to have the James-Irving duo. In the meantime, NBA sources suggest that Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks expressed a desire to reunite with his old coach Darvin Ham. The 6’10 power forward can help Anthony Davis in both center and offense, plus he is a pretty good rebounder. In the current season, Portis averaged 14.1 ppg, 9.6 rpg in 26 minutes. He is also good at shooting three-pointers, as he secured 37% in the regular season. Moreover, Portis played an instrumental role in helping the Bucks win the championship a couple of years back under the coaching of Darvin Ham. Hence, the front office can try and buy Bobby Portis to strengthen their roster.
There’s no question that James and Davis’ duo is working amazingly well. However, the question is if Irving will be sane off the court and if the Lakers can afford to bring in Kyrie. Undoubtedly, he is a hot name, and it would be great to have another superstar on the squad. But they need to seriously consider is they want to go with Kyrie, a long-lost LeBron James friend, or someone else, like Portis.
