ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes the Lakers are not going to be able to sign a big-time player this offseason.
Advertisement
Unlike the rest of the world, 2020 was a year of celebration and jubilation for Lakers fans all around the world as the legendary franchise managed to grab their 17th Championship with King LeBron James leading the way.
This year however stands in stark contrast. With the Lakers being eliminated in the very first round of the playoffs against the Phoenix Suns, the organisation has a lot of time to ponder on what went wrong this season.
Also read: “For Anthony Davis to always be hurt, he’s doing something wrong “
While one could argue that the quick turnaround of the season is a major reason for the Lakers not making it through the first round, especially with Anthony Davis’ groin injury and LeBron hurting his ankle, many believe that the Lakers front office and roster require a radical change if they plan on winning another championship with a 36-year-old LeBron leading the squad.
Brian Windhorst is pessimistic about the Lakers’ options for a do-over this summer
In a recent appearance on The Jump, Windy was quick to point out all the restrictions the Lakers organization face in terms of their spending power this summer.
As of now, the Lakers have almost 100 million dedicated to four players on the squad including LeBron, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope thereby severely limiting their ability to grab a superstar.
Following their championship win last year, the Lakers front office went on to make a few additions which included Dennis, Schroder, Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrel, they also acquired Andre Drummond after buying him out from the L.A. Clippers.
As is evident these additional moves last season haven’t really worked for the Lakers as a unit and it is unlikely we see any of these players on the squad. With Schroder and Drummond being unrestricted agents next year and Harrel having his player option for 2020-2021, the future of these recent additions isn’t really clear.
“The Lakers fans dream of signing a big-time player this summer, that’s not gonna happen”
As of now, the chances of signing a top tier player like Damian Lillard to join LeBron and A.D seem slim. The most Lakers fans can hope for is that A.D comes back stronger having a full offseason to recover and that their G.M Rob Pelinka makes some serious moves to acquire better role players by swapping out a few who will be free agents this summer, including Alex Caruso, Wesley Matthews, Markieff Morris and Ben McLemore.
