Lakers Expectations Review and Offseason Desires

The Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA championship, beating the Miami Heat in six games and tying the Boston Celtics for the most titles in NBA history.

In October, I outlined three expectations I had for them for this season, and now we’ll see whether or not they were met. I’ll also add three desires for them in the offseason.

Staying Healthy: Good

Injuries are inevitable during the course of a season, and according to FOX Sports, the Lakers racked up 105 total injuries throughout the shortened season. Most injuries were minor and caused players to miss a few games, but the Lakers were still able to amass a 52–19 record in the regular season.

Being Top-10 in Defensive Ratings: Great

Once they assembled their roster, everyone knew how good the purple and gold’s playing style would be. They finished the regular season third in defensive rating (106.1), behind the Toronto Raptors (104.5) and Milwaukee Bucks (102.5). The in-season additions of Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris helped them on both sides of the floor.

In his second stint with the LakeShow, Dwight Howard did not disappoint. In addition to 1.2 blocks per game, the 34-year-old put up 7.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG, shooting 73% from the field (202 of 277) and 60% from three (3 of 5). Unfortunately, his free-throw shooting woes continued, as he only drilled 51% of them in the regular season.

Serving as a backup big in the regular season, Howard was ready when his number was called in the playoffs. In 18 games and 7 starts, he averaged 5.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 0.5 APG, and 0.4 BPG. He shot 68% from the field, 56% from the charity stripe, and made one of two threes.

Markieff Morris was signed after a post-trade-deadline buyout from the Detroit Pistons. Adding more size and giving LA another three-and-D force, Morris averaged 5.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.6 APG, and 0.4 SPG & BPG while shooting 41% from the field (28 of 69) and 33% from long distance (13 of 39). In 21 postseason games (2 starts), he put up 5.9 PPG, 3 RPG, and 1 APG. He contributed little defensively, averaging 0.3 SPG and 0.1 BPG, but his length was crucial against teams not named the Houston Rockets. He shot 45% from the field and 42% from three.

Western Conference Finals Appearance: Done

Clearly, I was too light on these guys. They looked like a championship team from the very beginning, and even as one of their biggest fans, I still had some doubts like everyone else. They managed to prove all of us wrong.

OFFSEASON DESIRES

No team is perfect, and I believe the Lakers still have work to do if they want to repeat as NBA champions.

A Younger, Physical Center

JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard have been vital bigs for the Lakers this year, even if they played limited minutes. However, at 33 and 34 years old (respectively), they’re in need of a younger center who can produce as much as they do. They used to have someone like that, before he was dealt to the cross-town rivals for a stretch-five who shot 43% from the field and made 21 of 57 threes at 6’11”. Nice job, Rob.

(The Laker who was traded was Ivica Zubac, a young big with a sweeping skyhook; he was traded for Mike Muscala, who would go on to leave the Lakers in free agency for the Oklahoma City Thunder.)

There are several young bigs in the 2020 draft with first-round potential, such as Zeke Nnaji (Arizona), Jalen Smith (Maryland), or Daniel Oturu (Minnesota). There are also names on the board in free agency that could meet LA’s needs, like Meyers Leonard, Thon Maker, or Dario Saric. Bringing back DeMarcus Cousins, who they signed last offseason before he tore his ACL, would also be a good move if he is 100% healthy.

Regardless, LA will have plenty of choices if they choose to look for a new starting big man.

Guard Depth

Another positional hole the Lakers must address this offseason is the need for a younger ball-handling guard. With the latest rumors that Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are expected to decline their player options and enter free agency, the Lakers could look for potential replacements in the draft to join Avery Bradley and Alex Caruso.

One name that comes to mind is Cassius Winston, a 6’1” guard out of Michigan State. I evaluated him and three other prospects in a recent article found here: https://medium.com/the-voice-of-truth/evaluating-four-lakers-draft-prospects-a55128f8d79e

The Lakers will also need three-and-D guards that can keep up with the superstar ball-handlers such as Westbrook, Harden, Curry, Kyrie, etc. Switching LeBron onto them when one of their teams also has a talented forward (i.e. the Nets or Sixers) isn’t ideal, so having a two-way player that can effectively handle the guards while LeBron and AD deal with the opposing front-court would be beneficial.

There have been rumors of the Lakers trading for Chris Paul (again), who proved all the doubters wrong and led the Thunder to the playoffs last season. The purple and gold have very little they can give up contract-wise, and having AD, LeBron, and CP3 making nearly $100M would leave them with a depleted bench.

A Third Scorer

The Lakers are also in need of another bucket-getter to take the pressure off of Anthony Davis and LeBron, which could be achieved through either trade or free agency.

One free agent could be Danilo Gallinari, who put up 19–5–2 for the Thunder while shooting 44% from the field, 41% from three, and 89% from the line. The downside for Gallo is that he is injury prone and not a great defender, only putting up 0.7 SPG and 0.1 BPG.

If free agency doesn’t bring them another scorer, trading Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma will.

Green’s three-point shooting has been as hot-and-cold as three-day-old leftovers microwaved from the fridge. The 10-year vet averaged 8 PPG, 3 RPG, and one APG, while shooting 42% from the field and 37% from three as the starting shooting guard. This postseason, he put up 8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.2 APG, while shooting 34% from the field and the same from three, as well as 67% from the line. He also had a WIDE-OPEN three to end the series in five, but, of course, he missed it.

KCP was seen as the Lakers’ third scorer in the playoffs, with 10.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.3 APG, with splits of 42% from the field, 38% from three, and 82% from the line. He is six years younger and making half of Green’s $15 million salary. If he re-signs with the Lakers, KCP should be considered for Green’s starting spot.

Kuzma put up 12.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.3 APG, with a field-goal shooting percentage of 44%, and a three-point percentage of 32%. In the playoffs, Kuz averaged 10 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 0.8 APG while shooting 43% from the field and 31% from three. His performance throughout the year was so poor that some fans even signed a petition saying he shouldn’t receive a championship ring.

A case could be made for Green to come off the bench as a sixth man, but if LA decides to shake up their roster and remove their weakest links, Green and Kuzma would have to go.

Looking at the possible return for these two, who are making a combined $18M next season, the Lakers could go after players such as Gary Harris (Nuggets owe him $19M next year), Evan Fournier ($17M player option with the Orlando Magic), Bogdan Bogdanovic (owed $17M by the Kings), Buddy Hield (not happy in Sacramento, making $24M as part of a four-year extension) and Victor Oladi — I’ll stop myself right there.

Trading for three-and-D forward Jerami Grant could be a great move as well. He has a $9M player option with the Nuggets and had regular-season averages of 12 PPG, 4 RPG, & one APG with 48% from the field and 39% from three.

Overall, the Lakers exceeded my expectations from this season, and they may do so in the offseason if they are committed to bringing an 18th title back to the City of Angels.

SOURCES (All Stats and Contract Info Came From Basketball-Reference)

“Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Expected to Decline Player Option”, Hoops Rumors https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2020/10/kentavious-caldwell-pope-expected-to-decline-player-option.html

“Los Angeles Lakers Injury Report”, Fox Sports. https://www.foxsports.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers-team-injuries

“Report: Rajon Rondo opting out of Lakers contract” by Dan Feldman, Yahoo Sports https://sports.yahoo.com/report-rajon-rondo-opting-lakers-033511001.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABvOdlET-56mGkjEvHFULdZJOh4OhaQWWojwPhwgzAWnWaXgiAQABzeOryLnsl4i4m0zDEOiF89O6kvbS5rpsbPnznokPNSBWwWDPRxEogJosR6j8drXSIz5xooJeX5yPZniCDhcMxiNlEGiaJwXn22UB18Elfs_yK__GL9-AP-1

“Teams Defense”, NBA.com https://stats.nba.com/teams/defense/?sort=DEF_RATING&dir=-1&Season=2019-20&SeasonType=Regular%20Season