Hollinger: For Lakers, Suns and Heat, what now? When all-in goes wrong https://t.co/t7Tu7Xt1nt
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) May 11, 2024
The bigger issue in L.A. is whether the Lakers should use what assets remain in pursuit of a third star. I outlined in February the contours of a potential Trae Young deal, for instance, and that hasn’t really changed, nor has the noise gone away. As ever, the Lakers will be in the conversation for virtually every star player who expresses even a scintilla of unhappiness over the next two months.
But keep in mind, they’re limited by first-round picks and a lack of expiring contracts, and the tax apron will be a factor in any aggregation attempts. Additionally, D’Angelo Russell opting out of his $18 million deal for next season would take an important salary-matching piece out of the picture; he might opt out just for that reason, to have more say in his next destination. That’s one reason Young is a fixation; this might be the best they can do.
That ignores the bigger, more jarring question for L.A.: Is this team actually good enough to bother going all-in like this? The team is committed to chasing the short term through 2027, when it owes a first to Utah, but after that, anything goes. Do the Lakers really want to be surrendering picks in 2029 and 2031 to try to get this team somewhere above seventh in the West playoff pecking order? Or is it time to make a different bet?
The Lakers have more assets at their disposal than the Suns, but not by much. They could potentially use their nontaxpayer midlevel exception for another depth piece, but otherwise are leaning on minimum guys to fill out the roster and hoping for another healthy year from a nearing-40 James and Davis. Adding another star would help, but one wonders if a less radical makeover — such as a lower-stakes swap of this year’s draft pick and some aggregated unwanted salaries (name literally any bench player) for a genuinely starting-caliber two-way wing — could give them nearly as much short-term bite without the long-term downside of dealing two unprotected firsts that convey long after James has retired.
Either way, it’s getting harder to see a scenario where the sunset years for James are awash in team glory, unless the Lakers just kill it on minimum free agents. There are too many holes and no good young players aside from Austin Reaves, and the new CBA constraints make it difficult to backfill mistakes even in glamor markets.