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Not surprised

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Aloha,

I came into this off season with very low expectations. We had no cap space beyond the mini MLE, only 2 distant 1st round picks, only one sizable expiring contract and no young prospects that would interest a rebuilding team.

To make matters worse, it is a weak free agent class. When Klay and Derozan are your big targets. That’s tells you how weak it is. And to top it off there have only been a handful of names on the trade block. The silver lining is we did get a very good prospect in a weak draft.

I guess the good news is, so far we haven’t done anything stupid. Unfortunately Rob has plenty of time left to pull off another boner move.

I had hoped to add a back up center that can bang and perhaps a decent minimum guy of MLE guy that can help. But since every one of our minimum guys opted in, we don’t even have a roster spot available. And as I look at the few rumored players that maybe available in a trade, I don’t see one that would be a big enough upgrade to justify the cost.

Look, this is a pretty good team. Health was a big issue. We generally had at least 3 rotation guys out, sometimes 4 and occasionally 5. And we had a coach that didn’t know how to handle it. Once he finally started the unit he should have all year long, we turned it around and was one of the best teams down the stretch. Even in the playoffs we faced a healthy Nuggets team with 3 guys out. While they weren’t stars, the games were so close that even minor contributions could have turned the tide.

So what do we do? Well, I think we see if we can open up a couple of roster spots and a player or two on the margins. Then hold onto our most tradable assets and see what presents itself as the season progresses. While are not a true contender I think we are a top 6 team. We are already better than the Nuggets and Clippers after they lost important players. We should save our assets for players that could make a difference.

My biggest fear is that Rob will again blow it and do something stupid. I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen

The Lakers have been quiet so far in free agency

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It’s too early to write the Lakers off, of course. There’s always a chance they pull a rabbit out of a hat with a trade or signing. They have been active in recent days, discussing potential deals with Portland, Brooklyn and Utah, among other teams, according to league and team sources. Vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka tends to operate in the shadows — more so this summer than ever, according to league sources. It’s certainly possible he has a contingency plan that saves the offseason.

But the Lakers are running out of time. Free agents are flying off the board. Teams are making moves that will tie up their cap space and make it harder to trade. James wants to have his contract situation resolved by the start of the Team USA Olympics practice on Saturday in Las Vegas. That’s an unofficial deadline for Los Angeles, at least on the free-agency front.

It’s reaching the point where the Lakers need to do something — and sooner than later.