Lakers Should Copy This Summer What The Celtics Did Last Summer

The smartest thing the Lakers could do this summer is copy what the Celtics did last summer and use their draft picks to trade for an elite point-of-attack guard and two-way modern center rather than a third superstar.

Last summer, the Boston Celtics faced a situation very similar to what the Los Angeles Lakers will face this summer: how to build a championship starting lineup and rotation around two superstar players in their prime.
Much like this season’s Lakers, last season’s Celtics were a team with two legitimate superstars and a collection of highly respected role players that had struggled to live up to its potential and needed a major upgrade.

Unlike the Lakers, who reportedly want to trade for a third superstar with their eyes on the Hawks’ Trae Young, the Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, or the Mavs’ Kyrie Irving, the Celtics smartly went in the opposite direction.
They used first round picks and tradable contracts to land the elite point-of-attack defender they needed in Jrue Holiday and two-way modern center they needed to stretch the floor and protect the rim in Kristaps Porzingis.

The result was a Boston Celtics team that has the best record in the league by far and the #1 offensive rating, #2 defensive rating, and #1 net rating. Worst of all, Boston is now the favorite to win its 18th NBA championship.
Talk about a harsh reality that should jolt the Lakers’ ownership and front office and make them realize the last thing they need is a third superstar. The Celtics showed the Lakers exactly what they should do this summer.

Let’s take a closer look at how the Lakers this summer could copy what the Celtics did last summer and use their draft capital and tradable contracts to land an elite point-of-attack defender and two-way modern stretch center.

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Celtics’ Holiday & Porzingis Trades

Like this season’s Lakers, last season’s Celtics needed two things to become legitimate championship contenders: better point-of-attack defense and a modern two-way center who can both stretch the floor and protect the rim.

Boston’s mega trades last summer for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday transformed the Celtics from a second-tier competitor to the best team in the NBA and the odds-on favorite to win their 18th NBA championship.
The Lakers’ Rob Pelinka needs to take a close look at what the Celtics’ Brad Stevens accomplished with his two blockbuster trades to transform Boston into a championship contender because it’s also the right solution for L.A.

Stevens’ first move at the end of last season was to trade Marcus Smart, plus salary filler in Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, and an early second round pick for Kristaps Porzingis and a pair of late first round picks.
Before the start of the season, Brad pulled off a second mega trade for point-of-attack guard Jrue Holiday to replace Marcus Smart, giving up Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, and two late first round draft picks.

Those savvy moves resulted in the Celtics swapping Smart, Gallinari, Muscala, Brogdon, and Williams for Porzingis, Holiday, and an early second round pick. Porzingis’ trade gave them picks to use for Holiday.
That’s a consolidation effort that dramatically upgraded the Celtics from a tier-2 competitor to the championship favorite and set Brad Stevens up to win the league’s Executive of the Year award should Boston win #18.

The needs of this season’s Lakers and last season’s Celtics are so similar that the Rob Pelinka would be derelict if he did not consider replicating the trades Brad Stevens made rather than chasing after a third superstar.

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Who Could Be Lakers’ Holiday?

The Lakers’ top prospects to fill their need for a starting defensive guard who can elevate the team’s point-of-attack defense like Jrue Holiday has done for the Celtics are the Bull’s Alex Caruso and Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart.

Bringing back Alex Caruso to be the team’s starting shooting guard and point-of-attack perimeter defender playing alongside starting point guard D’Angelo Russell would be the perfect solution for the Los Angeles Lakers.
As an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection last season, Alex would be the perfect backcourt mate to play with D’Angelo Russell. Pelinka should try to swap Gabe Vincent and a protected first round draft pick for Alex Caruso.

Caruso could start at shooting guard alongside Russell, allowing Reaves to move to the bench as the team’s 6th man and backcourt mate for Spencer Dinwiddie, whom the Lakers should clearly try to re-sign for next season.
Russell and Caruso starting backed up by Dinwiddie and Reaves off the bench would upgrade and strengthen the Lakers’ backcourt and rotation going forward, giving them desperately needed backcourt stability.

The Lakers’ other candidate to be starting shooting guard and point-of-attack defender would be the Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart, who was the heart and soul of the Boston Celtics’ defense before being traded to Memphis.
Like Caruso, Smart would give the Lakers’ starting lineup a defense-first option while enabling Reaves to move to the bench with Dinwiddie. If Pelinka cannot land Caruso, Smart would be an equally strong candidate.

The los Angeles Lakers should trade for either the Bull’s Alex Caruso or the Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart this summer to replace Austin Reaves as starting shooting guard and be their primary point-of-attack perimeter defender.

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Who Could Be Lakers’ Porzingis?

The Lakers’ top prospects for a modern two-way big who can stretch the floor and protect the rim like Kristaps Porzingis has done for the Celtics are Magic’s power forward Jonathan Isaac and Raptors’ center Kelly Olynyk.

Finding a modern two-way center who could start alongside Anthony Davis in a two-bigs lineup, stretch the court with his 3-point shooting, and help protect the rim should be the Lakers’ other major priority this summer.
The Lakers’ top candidates for a second big to play with AD are the Magics’ Jonathan Isaac and the Raptors’ Kelly Olynyk, both of whom could play alongside or back up Anthony Davis at center so he can play the four.

The oft-injured but uber-talented Isaac is currently backing up Paolo Banchero and averaging 6.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 0.7 steals in 15.0 minutes per game while shooting 52.9/36.8/72.9%.
Jonathan would be a perfect fit next to AD. He has one year and $17.4 million left on his Magic contract and Pelinka should be able to acquire him this summer for Rui Hachimura and a first round draft pick.

The other intriguing modern two-way center the Lakers should consider is the Raptors’ Kelly Olynyk, who will be a free agent whom the Lakers should be able to acquire this summer for Rui Hachimura and a first round pick.
Whereas Isaac is slightly better on D than O, Olynyk is slightly better on O than D. He’s currently averaging 9.1 points, 5.0 boards, 4.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game shooting 55.0/40.5/81.7%.

The Los Angeles Lakers should trade for Jonathan Isaac or Kelly Olynyk to be their second big who could play alongside Anthony Davis in a two-bigs starting lineup or back up AD at center when he rests on the bench.

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How Would Lakers & Celtics Matchup?

Head-to-head, a new Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineup of Russell, Caruso, James, Davis, and Isaac matches up well against the Boston Celtics’ current juggernaut starting lineup of Holiday, White, Brown, Tatum, and Porzingis.

Both starting lineups boast pairs of legitimate top-10 superstars who can dominate any given game surrounded by three championship-quality starters who can shoot, pass, rebound, and defend at a premier level.
Both starting lineups also feature five players who can shoot the three, lockdown point-of-attack defensive guards who can stop penetration, and modern two-way centers who can space the floor and protect the rim.

Putting together a championship caliber starting lineup can be extremely expensive, especially if it causes teams to go over the luxury tax thresholds. Right now, the Boston Celtics are projected to have $183.6 million payroll.
The Celtics starters alone make $155.7 million per year, with four of the five starters earning over $30 million per annum. That payroll will cost the Celtics $39.5 million in luxury taxes for a grand total of $223.1 million.

Should the Lakers pull off mega trades for Alex Caruso and Jonathan Isaac, they will find themselves in a far better salary cap and luxury tax situation than the Celtics did after trading for Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
While Holiday and Porzingis earn $36.9 and $36.0 million per year, Caruso and Isaac only earn $9.5 and $17.4 million per year. That would let Lakers maintain a starting lineup payroll of $132.4 million, total payroll of $168.1 million, luxury tax of $7.0 million, for grand total of just $175.1 million.

Copying what last season’s Celtics did to build a championship starting lineup but targeting a less expensive lockdown perimeter defender and modern two-way center should be the Lakers game plan this summer.