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How Pelinka Can Redeem Himself and Get Lakers’ Organization Back in Sync

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It’s only taken a year and a half for the Los Angeles Lakers to go from champs to chumps, from winning a championship in the bubble to losing in the first round last year and possibly missing playoffs completely this year.

The Lakers lost their way by forgetting who they were and throwing away what won their championship. Rob cracked and traded for Russ, ownership suddenly got cheap, and Vogel got a roster that exposed his flaws. Everyone in the Lakers’ organization shares the blame for where the Lakers are right now, will have to be held accountable, and will need to participate in any solution to get the organization in sync and everybody on the same page.

The front office executive who will get the opportunity to fix the Lakers’ roster problem this summer will be the same Rob Pelinka who was responsible for the problems in the first place by agreeing to trade for Russ. You can blame LeBron and AD but it’s Rob who is paid big bucks to make those tough decisions like should we trade for Russell Westbrook, should we re-sign Alex Caruso, should we promise Andre Drummond a starting role?

Bottom line, here are the six steps Rob must take as head of basketball operations to get everybody in the Lakers’ organization in sync and on the same page and fix the roster problems caused by the Westbrook trade.

1. Accept Responsibility for the Lakers’ Current Mess

The first thing Rob needs to do is accept responsibility for the Westbrook trade. That LeBron and AD wanted Russ and pushed for the trade doesn’t matter. The final decision was Rob’s and it was clearly a poor decision.

Accepting responsibility for the Westbrook trade would clear the decks for everybody to stop assessing blame and instead allow ownership, front office, and coaching to work together to create game plan for this summer. Most importantly, it would show that Rob is the man in charge and will be the one making the final decision when it comes to terminating the Westbrook experiment and upgrading the roster to championship level.

The Lakers are at a major crossroads. They still have two superstars and could rebuild and come back as a legitimate contender next season…or they could continue making wrong moves and fumble LeBron James transition. Rob Pelinka needs to create a overall vision for how to get the best out of LeBron James and Anthony Davis and next year’s Lakers just like Jerry Buss did for the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Showtime Lakers.

Rob has an opportunity to redeem himself as the Lakers general manager and fix the problems caused by the Westbrook trade. The first step is him accepting responsibility for the Lakers’ current roster mess.

2. Convince Jeanie Buss to Open Lakers’ Purse Strings

Once Rob has accepted responsibility for the Lakers’ current mess, he needs to sit down with Jeanie and convince her paying luxury taxes has become just the basic price of admission to compete for NBA championships.

With a market value of $5.5 billion, the Lakers will likely end up paying just $3 million in luxury taxes, 11th lowest amount among tax payers and considerably less than the $60 million due from top taxpayer Warriors. Jeanie’s unwillingness to pay luxury taxes ended up costing the Lakers one of their best defensive players when they refused to match an offer Alex Caruso received from the Chicago Bulls because of potential luxury taxes.

What Rob Pelinka needs to do is convince Jeanie and her brothers and sister that winning championships is what’s made the franchise worth $5.5 billion today and that the Lakers need to spend money to make money. The Lakers need to be willing to pay the same level of luxury taxes as their competitors: the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers. You can’t lose quality players like Caruso due to tax concerns.

The ability to compete financially is a basic requirement if the Lakers are to be able to compete on the hardwood. Pelinka needs to convince Jeanie Buss that paying luxury taxes is just an investment on future championships.

3. Recruit Quin Snyder as the Lakers Next Head Coach

The biggest challenge Rob will have this summer will be replace Frank Vogel as head coach. Before he can do that, he needs to decide what kind of coach the Lakers need to best optimize LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The head coach candidate Rob Pelinka should pursue this summer is Quin Snyder, current head coach of the Jazz, who have new ownership and word is the new ownership may want a new head coach after eight years. Snyder is a former Lakers assistant coach who possesses the same defensive DNA as Frank Vogel but has fully embraced the 3-point revolution that’s taken over the NBA, which is what the Lakers need to complement LeBron and AD

Defensively, Snyder favors a two-bigs defense anchored by an elite shot blocker like Gobert, which is style similar to Frank Vogel’s defense. Quin’s Jazz defense was 3rd in the league last season but just 13th this season. Offensively, Quin Snyder has the Jazz taking and making the second most 3-point shots in the league this season, after leading the league in both last season. Quin is Mike D’Antoni on offense and Frank Vogel on defense.

Pelinka and the Lakers should go all-in to sign Quin Snyder as their next head coach. He has the championship experience both as a player and coach and the X’s and O’s chops superstars James and Davis will respect.

4. Rebuild the Partnership with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports

Once Pelinka has signed Snyder to replace Vogel as the Lakers next head coach, he needs to turn his attention to repairing and rebuilding his alliance with Klutch Sports and getting LeBron James to sign a two-year extension.

While James won’t be eligible to sign an extension until August 4th, Pelinka needs his verbal approval once the season ends so he can move forward to surround LeBron and AD with a championship roster when summer starts. Were James unwilling to sign an extension, the Lakers might then be forced to consider trading him in order not to lose him to free agency this summer without getting anything in return. James signing an extension is critical.

The extension James will likely approve would be for two years with player options for the second year, which would then line up LeBron and AD so their last guaranteed seasons would be 23–24 with player options for 24–25. That would then set the Lakers up with maximum cap space and no players under contract for the 2024–25 season, giving them the flexibility to re-sign superstars James and Davis or look for a superstar to replace LeBron James.

Strengthening the Klutch Sports alliance should be apriority for Pelinka. It not only solidifies the Lakers’ relationship with LeBron and AD but also opens the door for the Lakers to acquire another Klutch Sports superstar.

5. Trade Russell Westbrook to Rockets for John Wall

Once Rob has accepted responsibility for the Lakers’ mess, convinced Jeanie to loosen the purse strings, hired Quin Snyder as the next head coach, and rebuilt the alliance with Klutch Sports, he’s now ready to wheel and deal.

Finding a new home for Russell Westbrook will be Rob Pelinka’s first roster priority and undoubtedly the greatest challenge he will face this summer. The Lakers refused to give up a first round pick to move Russ at deadline. While the Lakers will be hoping to find a trading partner willing to take on Russ’ $47 million expiring contract, their best option could very well be to trade Westbrook and a first round draft pick to the Rockets for John Wall.

The Lakers are not interested in waiving and stretching Russell Westbrook. While Rob will try to find a team willing to trade the valuable players with multiple year contracts in return for Russ, the Lakers may still strike out. There’s no question that replacing Westbrook with Wall will be ‘addition by subtraction’ since Wall can at least be counted on to play under control and not create the chaotic rollercoaster ride Russ inevitably turns games into.

The first roster move Rob has to make this summer is trading Westbrook. Rob should be willing to give up one of the Lakers’ two first round picks to get a team to take Russell Westbrook’s $47 million expiring contract.

6. Trade THT, Nunn, and Pick for Stretch Five Center

The Lakers are at a critical crossroads where the decisions they make this summer will not only impact next season but could also the transition of the team once LeBron James retires and the success of post-LeBron future.

The last three years, the Lakers alternated between two-big lineups with traditional centers like JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard and small-ball-on-steroids lineups with Anthony Davis or LeBron James as stretch fives. Considering how the Lakers’ small lineups have been getting killed in the paint and on the boards and the persistent injuries to James and Davis, the Lakers should seriously consider returning to the two-bigs formula.

Rather than bringing in another traditional center, the Lakers should look to for a center with the size to protect the rim, the bulk to handle power centers like Embiid and Jokic, and the shooting stroke to stretch defenses. Adding a modern center like Christian Wood or Myles Turner would enable the Lakers to be able to play big or small. It would also give them the ability to have an elite shot blocker on the court for all 48 minutes of the game.

Considering injuries that have derailed this and last season’s teams, the Lakers should rethink their front court and look to trade for a modern stretch five center who can both protect the rim and stretch defenses.

Lakers’ Season On the Line Today Against the New Orleans Pelicans

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The Los Angeles Lakers are on the precipice of finishing outside of the top-ten teams in the West and missing the play-in tournament and playoffs or being the most dangerous #8 playoff seed this side of the Brooklyn Nets.

Whether it’s the wacky nature of this polarizing Lakers team or the rising parity and changing of the guard in the NBA, the line between a season becoming a stunning disaster or shocking success has never been thinner. Heading into today’s marquee matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans, the Los Angeles Lakers are 1.5 games away from being the #11 seed in the West, which would mean missing the Play-In Tournament and playoffs.

With just 9 games remaining, the Lakers are in a brutal 3-way battle with the Pelicans and Spurs for the #9 and #10 seeds in the West. The Lakers lead the Pelicans by just a half game and the Spurs by just one and a half games. Adding to the chaos of the situation is the reality many of the remaining games for the Lakers, Pelicans, and Spurs will be against teams for whom those games won’t matter, making it hard to predict who will prevail.

Here are the nine remaining games on the Lakers’ regular season schedule:

What jumps out right away about the Lakers schedule are the two games ]against the Pelicans, today March 27th in New Orleans, and on April 1st in Los Angeles. Win those two games and Lakers championship quest is alive. Lose both games and the Lakers will likely finish an embarrassing 11th in the West and miss ]the Play-In Tournament and playoffs. That could lead to major changes in both the Lakers’ front office and coaching staff.

The Los Angeles Lakers have played their best basketball of the year the last four games. Their game today against the Pelicans is the most important game of the season. In many ways, the Lakers’ season is on the line today. Winning this game will transform the Lakers from a season-long embarrassment to a dangerous team no other team wants to meet in the playoffs. Lakers are the last team the Suns want to face in the first round.

This is hopefully the third and final Covid colored NBA season. The Lakers have an opportunity to win their second championship in the last three years. Today, we’ll get a glimpse of just how possible that dream could be.

How Moving Russell Westbrook to the Bench Could Help Lakers Win Games!

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The Los Angeles Lakers need to win games and moving Russell Westbrook to the bench the rest of the season and staggering his minutes with James and Davis could make it easier to build a winning starting lineup and rotations.

One of the major reasons the Lakers have been unable to win many games this season has been their poor roster construction, which led head coach Frank Vogel to regularly deploy a collection of fundamentally flawed lineups. Rob Pelinka didn’t do Frank Vogel any favors when he gave him a James, Davis, Westbrook superstar big three. Russ hasn’t fit well and his presence makes it hard to surround LeBron and AD with shooting and defense.

The Lakers were desperate to find shooters and defenders to surround James and Davis but trading for Russell Westbrook, who is not a good shooter or defender, only exacerbated the situation and made it worse. Forget injuries to LeBron and AD. The reality is Lakers’ lineups with all three superstars LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook have played a total of 376 minutes this season with a negative net rating of -2.5.

The only strategy the Lakers haven’t tried is bringing Westbrook off the bench and staggering his minutes versus James and Davis to make it easer to surround them with shooters and defenders and let Russ feast against backups. The Lakers are desperate to win games and reverting to a starting lineup with just two superstars could be the catalyst to enable Frank Vogel to create more effective starting lineups and rotations and win more games.

Let’s take a look at how moving Russell Westbrook to the bench and staggering his minutes with LeBron and AD could help the Los Angeles Lakers win more games and maybe find success in the playoffs.

1. Lakers’ Starting Lineup Will Be Better Without Westbrook

Russell Westbrook starting not only takes possessions from LeBron James and Anthony Davis but Russ’ lack of gravity as a 3-point shooter makes it easy to pack the paint and prevent LeBron and AD from attacking the rim.

Even more distressing is the recent scuttlebutt we’re hearing behind the scenes that Westbrook has become almost defiant and pushed back “when coaches and teammates have tried to broach changes in his role or approach.” Word is both the Lakers and Westbrook are ready to move on next season, which raises the question of what the Lakers should do with Russ these last 20 games since the relationship may become adversarial.

Removing Russ from the starting lineup would give Lakers head coach Frank three instead of two starting positions to add the playmaking, shooting, and defense needed to complement superstars James and Davis. Building an elite starting lineup around three superstars is almost impossible as there is no way to ‘surround’ LeBron, AD, and Russ with playmakers, shooters, and defenders when you only have two starters available.

Frankly, the time’s come to stop treating Russ like he’s a legit third superstar on a championship caliber team. He’s now become the mistake the Lakers will likely have to sacrifice a couple of draft picks to fix this summer. Truth is Westbrook is just a poor fit as starter because what he brings to the table offensively or defensively does not complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis or make it easier for them excel at either end of the court.

Right now, the Lakers are losing the minutes when LeBron, AD, and Russ are on the court together. Benching Russ could be the solution to the Lakers winning the minutes the starters are on the floor together going forward.

2. Westbrook Will Be More Effective Player Coming Off Bench

While Westbrook will not be happy coming off the bench for the last 20 games of this season, it could be an chance for him to showcase his brand and what he’s capable of doing when not limited to being third option.

Russell Westbrook’s subpar season has clearly been =impacted by playing most of his minutes alongside LeBron James and/or Anthony Davis. He has a -4.0 Net Rating playing with James and a -2.3 Net Rating and with Davis. Russ has actually played better without LeBron James than with him this season, averaging 21.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.6 assists while shooting 44.8/345.7/72,2% in 35.5 minutes in 17 games without LeBron James.

Westbrook has struggled mightily when playing with LeBron and AD, often deferring to them rather than playing his normal super aggressive game. Bringing him off the bench will put Russ in situations where he can excel. Westbrook should realize his game is better suited to come off the bench, where he can once again be the alpha dog and his relentless attacking style will be able to take advantage of playing against a team’s backup players.

Now that the Lakers and Russ have mutually agreed to part ways at the end of this season, Russ needs to be sold on the idea this is the best way for him to show teams his subpar season is primarily due to his fit on the Lakers. He needs to understand that becoming a force off the bench without LeBron and AD could be the perfect opportunity to showcase his game over the next 20 games, the play-in tournament, and ultimately the NBA Playoffs.

Russ’ market value has taken a hard hit with the Lakers and a chance to be the Lakers’ alpha player who gets the touches and shots off the bench could benefit the Lakers need to win games and Russ to redeem his brand.

Five Questions Whose Answers Could Change the Los Angeles Lakers’ Future

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Less than a year and a half after winning their 17th NBA championship, the Lakers are finally entering what amounts to the end-game of the LeBron James era as the King only has one year remaining on his contract.

As their championship hopes fade to reality, the Lakers appear to be destined at best to be a play-in team this season, making it two straight years of poor roster construction and extensive injuries to their superstars. But the challenges facing the Lakers this offseason are going to determine whether the franchise can regain its footing as a legitimate championship contender or whether they will be forced into some form of a rebuild.

Heading into the final third of this disappointing season, here are the five major franchise-defining questions the Los Angeles Lakers must answer as the team enters into the end-game of the LeBron James era.

1. Can LeBron James Still Carry the Los Angeles Lakers to Title?

When you look at the stats for the Lakers this season, what jumps out other than the disappointing 27–33 record is LeBron James’ negative net rating for the season. The Lakers are actually losing the minutes LeBron James plays.

LeBron James’ 109.7 offensive rating less his 111.4 defensive rating give him a -1.7 net rating for this season, which is the first time in 18 seasons he’s had a negative net rating since a -2.0 net rating in his 2003–04 rookie season. Winning the LeBron minutes has never been the Lakers problem until this year. Last year, LeBron’s net rating was +9.2 and the year before +8.5. The Last five games, LeBron’s net rating has been a -10.2, 12th on the Lakers.

Other than the heroic fourth quarter in the Utah Jazz win, LeBron James has struggled by his standard over the last five games, posting 28.4/9.4/5.4 but shooting just 48.7/32.4/80.0% and averaging a Westbrookish 5.2 turnovers. Assuming Davis is out for next 12 to 18 games, the Lakers need to be careful not to overwork LeBron and risk him suffering a major injury like happened to Kobe Bryant. Truth is LeBron James needs to rest the knee now.

The Lakers should seriously consider shutting down LeBron for a week or two rather than risking him getting injured. The remote chance the Lakers could win #18 this season is not worth risking the health of LeBron James.

2. Should the Lakers Continue the Close Alliance with Klutch Sports?

Fortunately, I believe any question about the future of the relationship between the Lakers and Klutch Sports has been already been addressed by LeBron James and Rich Paul meeting with Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss.

The next step would be confirmation from Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss that the Lakers/Klutch alliance was in good standing and they’re looking forward to making moves this summer to rebuild roster to championship level. Getting LeBron to sign an extension will require the Lakers to be willing to trade first round picks, take back players with multiple-year contracts, and pay whatever luxury taxes it takes to compete and win NBA championships.

There’s always will be some friction between LeBron James and whatever team he plays for because they often have different agendas, usually LeBron in total win-now mode and the team not wanting to sacrifice their future. Franky, it’s telling the news about LeBron and Rich meeting with Rob and Jeanie all came from Klutch Sports rather than from the Lakers. LeBron and Rich smartly understanding they can’t push the Lakers like other teams.

The close alliance with Klutch Sport has been a big advantage for the Lakers over other NBA teams. Klutch delivered a message but so did the Lakers. The Lakers/Klutch alliance should continue even after LeBron James retires.

3. Is Anthony Davis Still Right Superstar to Take Baton from LeBron?

Just 18 months ago, we were talking about AD taking the baton from LeBron as the Lakers’ best player. If a Davis injury ends a second straight Lakers season, the discussion about AD may be whether to trade him.

Now that it looks like Davis will have just 6 to 9 regular season games left after returning from injury to get ready for the playoffs, the Lakers should hope for a replay of the bubble, where AD had only 8 regular season games. While the Lakers/Klutch breakup story was hot, everyone talked about what a haul the Lakers could get trading LeBron and AD. The true value of both these players is elite. They’re generational. You don’t trade them away.

But we can’t ignore the how injuries to LeBron and AD have hurt the team. For LeBron, it’s Father Time and personal load management limiting him. Before this injury, AD was getting back to playing like the bubble AD. Part of the decision of whom the Lakers pursue to replace LeBron will depend on how well Anthony Davis plays the rest of this season and next. Injury worry could impact how the Lakers use AD but he’s still LeBron’s heir apparent.

We’re not yet at the point of figuring out how to position to draft Bronny or how exactly Giannis will replace LeBron on the Lakers but for now Anthony Davis, for at least next year, will be the Lakers’ future alpha star.

4. Should Lakers Rethink Their Total Commitment to Small Ball?

While the Lakers won their 17th championship playing small with James at the four and Davis the five, they should rethink committing entirely to small ball going forward to save wear-and-tear on LeBron and AD.

While AD may be the best small ball five and LeBron the best small ball four, having an injury prone center and overworked 37-year old power forward playing the two most physical lineup positions might not be so smart. With Davis out for four to five more weeks, the Lakers need to play Dwight Howard at the five more to avoid burning out or injuring LeBron James at the five. That’s a strategy the Lakers should adopting next season.

The problem with the Lakers playing small is the lack of a third 3&D front court player to complement James and Davis, either a small forward who can guard big wings or stretch four or five who can protect the rim. The best solution could be to go big and trade for a stretch center like Myles Turner or Christian Wood, who would allow the Lakers to play five-out small ball on offense but with the size to protect the rim on defense.

Having a modern stretch five center like Turner or Wood would make the Lakers more versatile and dangerous in the playoff and reduce the banging and physicality that could wear down LeBron or AD and lead to their injury.

5. What Should the Lakers Be Looking for in Next Head Coach?

There’s a consensus in the media that Frank Vogel will not return as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Short of a miraculous postseason finish by the Lakers, this year will probably be Vogel’s last as the Lakers’ head coach.

Firing Vogel raises the question of what should the Lakers be looking for in their next head coach. They need a coach who knows the game at a high level and whom superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis will respect. Ultimately, it would also help if the next head coach had played for or had a connection to the Lakers as that would make it easier to hire him and having played in the league is often an advantage when coaching players.

The Lakers should avoid bringing in another recycled coach like David Fizdale. Ideally, they should look to make a bold hire like the Brooklyn Nets did with Steve Nash and consider Rajon Rondo as the Lakers’ next head coach. Rondo is not only one of the smartest players who ever put on an NBA jersey but also a fiery competitor who knows the Lakers’ front office and has played with LeBron and AD and many of the players on the team.

The Lakers would need to supplement Rondo’s staff with proven former head coaches but by choosing someone with his background and potential, the Lakers could make a quick, smooth transition from Frank Vogel.

Three Strategies Lakers Must Change to Stay Competitive in Modern NBA!

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If the Los Angeles Lakers hope to compete for championships in a league where the challenge and financial investment to win titles have dramatically increased, they must be willing to pay the price to be a legitimate contender.

After winning their 17th championship in the bubble eighteen months ago, the Lakers struggled to stay competitive as injuries and Covid battered the roster and poor decisions and cap and tax strategies derailed progress. Suddenly, the NBA’s most storied franchise is facing a series of franchise defining decisions with major short and long-term implications as their usual championship team building strategies no longer seem to be working.

What’s happened is the competitive landscape for the NBA has changed and the price of admission to be a legitimate contender in the league today now requires top teams to accept gargantuan payrolls and mega luxury taxes. The last two years, the Lakers’ personnel decisions were driven by their old school strategies of trading for a third superstar, optimizing cap flexibility by only adding players on short term deals, and avoiding luxury taxes.

Unfortunately, those strategies led the Lakers to trade for Westbrook, build a roster of minimum salary players with no trade value, and lose valuable assets like Alex Caruso and Dennis Schroder to free agency with no return. Unable to find a deal at the trade deadline, the Lakers doubled down on the same outdated approach, positioning themselves to use Russ’ $47 million expiring contract and two first round picks to trade for Damian Lillard.

Lakers must accept the rules have changed. Tradeable players on long-term deals are better than cap space, mega luxury taxes are the new price of admission to compete, and two superstars and depth are better than three.

1. Tradeable Players on Long-Term Deals Are Better Than Cap Space

The Lakers’ approach to team building has always favored cap space and players on 1-year deals over players on multiple-year contracts. The Lakers need to rethink this strategy as it limits both team talent and continuity.

with 13 of the 15 players on their roster making either max or minimum salaries, the Lakers’ ability to take advantage of trade opportunities to improve their roster are severely limited as we’ve seen the past two years. Cap space is great if you’re trying to sign LeBron James as your centerpiece but filling a roster with nothing but minimum salary players on 1-year deals limits the talent you can sign and your trading chips to get better.

The trade the Clippers made to land Powell and Covington, two players who would have been great fits on the Lakers, was a perfect example of a trade opportunity for which the Lakers simply did not have the assets to pull off. That’s why not failing to re-sign Caruso and Schroder as trading chips was a serious mistake. Standing pat at the trade deadline also did nothing to help the Lakers be in a better position with respect to trading chips this summer.

The key to putting the best possible team on the court and retaining the flexibility to free up cap space or come up with the assets needed to take advantage of trade opportunities is signing players to tradeable contracts. Signing key players you can easily move if necessary is a smarter strategy than turning over an entire roster of 1-year deals like the Lakers did the last two seasons. It gives you better players and a chance to build continuity.

Settling for 1-year deals to pursue cap space flexibility limits the talent a team can put on the court, the continuity teams needs to be a winner, and the trading chips to take advantage of opportunities to improve the roster.

2. Mega Luxury Taxes Are Price of Admission to Compete for Title

While NBA teams have recently made moves to reduce luxury tax bills, the Lakers are unique among major big market competitors in that they’ve been unwilling to pay mega luxury taxes like the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets.

We’ve seen that in the Lakers’ decision not to re-sign Alex Caruso, a player whom they could have definitely used as a trading chip at the deadline or as a key rotation piece as they struggle to win enough games to make the playoffs. We’ve also seen the Lakers’ refuse at the deadline to accept the Rockets offer of Christian Wood in trade because of the luxury taxes re-signing a young talent like Wood could ultimately cost the franchise.

While the Lakers were never willing to pay significant luxury taxes back in the days the franchise was run by Dr. Jerry Buss, times have changed and big market teams like the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets have raised the bar. While the Lakers may not have billionaire owners like other franchises, they need to continue to invest in building their brand by doing what they have to do to compete in today’s NBA, even if that means mega luxury taxes.

With the salary cap and luxury tax threshold increasing next year, NBA teams as a whole seem to be making moves to limit how much luxury taxes they will have to pay, especially the small market teams who never pay taxes. Unfortunately, big market teams seem intent on raising the bar to compete for an NBA championship. There was a point when the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets were slated to pay over $100 million in luxury taxes.

The Lakers need to wake up and understand that the reason the franchise is worth almost $5 billion is because of the 17 NBA championships they have won. Luxury taxes are the new price of admission to be NBA champions.

3. Two Superstars with Deep Roster Better Than Three Superstars

The Lakers’ and Nets’ experience with superstar big threes suggests two superstars with a deeper balanced roster could be the better team building model than three superstars for winning multiple NBA championships.

The two superstar model is just easier to put together. Just look at the potential personality and fit issues a team encounters trying to make three superstars work. There’s something about ’two’s company, three’s a crowd.’ That’s not even dealing with the issue that there’s only two other starters, which makes building a viable two-way starting and closing lineup near impossible, especially if all you can afford are players on minimum salaries.

Right now, the Lakers’ 15-man roster consists of 3 superstars on maximum deals, 2 players in Horton-Tucker ($9.5 million) and Nunn ($5 million) on non-minimum contracts, and 10 players on rookie or vet minimum deals. Being so top heavy, the Lakers other starters should logically be Talen and Kendrick since they’re being paid more. Unfortunately, Horton-Tucker has regressed from his sophomore season and Nunn has not been able to play.

Imagine if the Los Angeles Lakers could replace Westbrook and his $44.2 million salary with three high quality rotation players like Eric Gordon ($18.2 million), Christian Wood ($13.6 million), and Alec Burkes ($9.5 million)? That’s basically the route the Lakers should be looking to take this summer by trading Westbrook to the Thunder for Derrick Favors ($9.5 million) and a $34.7 million trade exception to acquire additional players.

While the Lakers are anxious to find a third superstar to replace LeBron James when he retires, right now they need to focus on finding two or three quality championship caliber players to complement their two superstars.