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Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif
The Lakers, who signed several deals during the season and were very active in the run-up to the trade deadline, are likely to liven up the market again this summer. A league executive even claims that they have already started to look into one of their leads.
Once again, Rob Pelinka is unlikely to get much rest in the off-season. It has to be said that the Lakers have once again failed in their quest for a title, despite the work carried out by their general manager during the season. The arrivals of Luka Doncic and Dorian Finney-Smith did not allow the franchise to go all the way, forcing them to be studious this summer.
Fortunately for him, it wasn’t too difficult to identify the areas to be addressed in the Angelino squad. In fact, he didn’t hesitate to unveil them in public at his most recent press conference. Expect the Los Angeles front office to be busy recruiting not only a winger with a 3&D profile in the coming weeks, but also, and above all, a pivot capable of occupying a place in the major five.
Lakers already in talks with a player they covet?
Faced with the limitations of Jaxson Hayes and the poor performance of Alex Len since his arrival in the team, the Lakers have a huge gap in the post 5. A gap that Pelinka and his assistants intend to fill by making a good deal on the market, and why not by attracting… Brook Lopez. And according to an executive interviewed by Gery Woelfel, some progress has already been made on this front:
Gery Woelfel: Brook Lopez will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. But then, just how much interest will the 37-year-old pivot generate around the league?” Plenty of teams are going to be interested in his services,“ replied one NBA executive before adding rather cynically, ”I’m sure the Lakers have already talked to him.”
As far as this executive is concerned, the competition is bound to be fierce. The Lakers are certainly well aware of this, and may have already started to make their move. This explains the final sentence of the anonymous executive. It should be noted, however, that such an approach, if it did indeed take place, would contravene the league’s rules and would therefore be reprehensible.
As a reminder, NBA franchises cannot officially begin negotiations with future free agents until June 30. Some of them have attempted to do so prematurely in the past and have been punished for it. Just ask the Bucks, who lost a second-round draft pick for entering into discussions with Bogdan Bogdanovic before the deadline.
