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Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif
At the heart of numerous rumors since their elimination from the playoffs, the Lakers are going to have to be active on the market if they want to play for the title next year. However, according to their counterparts, they are likely to come up against a major problem.
In all likelihood, LeBron James and Luka Doncic will still be in their ranks next season. And despite this, the Lakers are struggling to win unanimous support as future title contenders. It has to be said that the supporting cast of the two stars clearly left something to be desired during the playoffs and needs to be improved in the coming weeks. Fortunately for them, Rob Pelinka seems to have understood this.
The Angelino general manager has been canvassing the market ever since the franchise was eliminated, in particular with a view to closing several rookies at one position according to Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints :
Anthony Irwin: Rob Pelinka’s top priority has been clear ever since the Lakers were eliminated without honors in the first round: they need centers, plural.
Lakers weighed down by past market failures?
With a clearly under-populated and under-talented roster, the Lakers intend to remedy the situation this summer. In fact, they already attempted to do so at the trade deadline, when they wanted to trade Dalton Knecht and a first-round draft pick for Mark Williams. However, this aborted transfer may now backfire, according to an Eastern Conference executive interviewed by Irwin:
The problem Rob and the Lakers face is that anyone who has a big man who can even walk is going to start negotiations by asking for Dalton (Knecht) and a first-round pick. And the price will only go up later if that big man actually possess other qualities.
As you can see, the Purple & Gold’s rivals won’t be doing them any favors.
There’s no question of them losing one of their interior players without getting a package similar to the one the Hornets could have obtained last February. It remains to be seen whether Pelinka and his assistants will again be willing to pay this price, and above all for which pivot(s) they will agree to do so. In the meantime, the GM is by no means twiddling his thumbs, according to an NBA source quoted by Irwin:
Oh, Rob hasn’t stopped working in recent weeks. Sure, he’s said publicly that he’s looking for a pivot, but that was already no secret. Everyone knows that he needs several big men with different skills. He certainly won’t succeed in completely completing his rotation this summer, but it’s clear that he’s trying by all means.
