AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t expected to be big players on the free-agent market this offseason, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Friday’s episode of Get Up.
“But there’s no big-game hunting out there for this Laker organization,” Wojnarowski said (1:06 mark).
“In this league right now with a new collective bargaining agreement, you can’t really…have three max contracts, three superstars and expect to have any depth on your roster. It’s going to look a lot the same, but think about a team next year that goes the entire season, with [Rui] Hachimura, with [Austin] Reaves as your starter. They’ve got a chance to be very, very competitive in the West.”
As far as the Lakers’ own free agents go, Wojnarowski said that the Lakers’ No. 1 goal is to not let restricted free agents Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves out of the building. He also said the Lakers would be prominent in the conversation for 18-year veteran Chris Paul if he becomes available via trade or free agency.
Ultimately, the Lakers don’t have room to add another superstar on a massive deal with Anthony Davis and LeBron James already aboard.
However, this Lakers team has championship potential. L.A. engineered an impressive run to the Western Conference finals after retooling the team prior to the trade deadline, adding key pieces in Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt. Reaves also became a featured player in the starting lineup and excelled.
There’s more work to be done, but an offseason to gel with the same core (or close to it) should go a long way toward this team achieving more success in 2023-24, even if the Lakers can’t go “big-game hunting.”
