LeBlanc James broke through quilt, and the last second after the timer, the Lakers’s 2022-23 season ended.
The Western finals were swept out from 4 to 4. The results of a single series certainly disappointed the Lakers, but from the perspective of onlookers, looking back at the ups and downs experienced by the Lakers throughout the season, the Lakers’ 2022-23 season cannot be defined by the word “failure.
The Lakers performed a miracle with a 0.3 percent probability of entering the playoffs. They entered the Western finals for two consecutive rounds. They could play this result in the year that Pelinka regarded as an error correction transition season, the Lakers can leave with their heads held high.
However, this result obviously cannot satisfy James who only sees the champion, otherwise he will not release the signal of retirement. James never liked the saying “although he was defeated”. At the post-match press conference, he also said that “this season will not be defined as success” and competitive sports will become the King and defeat the enemy.
At the moment of the final whistle, the Lakers have automatically shifted their focus to next season. This year’s off-season is crucial for the Lakers. After the mid-season is difficult to correct, can the Lakers management pursue the victory and then come up with a surprising operation?
James, who will be 39 years old next season, can’t afford to wait. After the game, he said that “there are many things to consider in the future”, releasing a signal that he may leave or retire, to a certain extent, it is also urging the management of the Lakers. Pelinka can’t make any mistakes in this operation.
Looking back on the operation of the management in the James Lake era, it has always been a difficult problem for the Lakers to block and dismantle the guard and shooter reserve. A few days ago, the Lakers introduced eight villages, De Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley to ease these two problems. However, in the playoffs, Russell and Beasley’s performance disappointed the Lakers. Russell’s fourth Western final was adjusted as a substitute, and Beasley slowly fell out of rotation from the series against the grizzly bear.
In the first two rounds, Anthony Davis performed strongly as a center, but the problem of lack of substitutes behind Davis was obvious. To reach the Western Final, Davis, who was essentially a fourth-place player, fell down the wind in the face of jokedge. In the fourth game, Tristan Thompson played only 10 minutes but the effect was good. This was the value of the substitute center.
The direction of the Lakers offseason is clear:
Vanderbilt, Austin Reeves and eight villages must be left.
Number five must be strengthened.
The number one position and external projection must continue to be improved, and the attacking-type defender with hard solution ability is a necessity.
In this generous downward trend, Carey Owen is the most suitable player for the Lakers, and James has long called for it. The problem is that it is basically unrealistic for the Lakers to chase Owen during the off-season. Not to mention that there was news not long ago that Owen had reached a verbal agreement to renew his contract with lone ranger when he joined the Lone Ranger. Even if Owen entered the free market, it would be difficult for the Lakers to sign Owen. It could even be said that it was impossible to sign Owen.
If the Lakers lay off Vanderbilt and Bamba, do not implement Beasley’s team options, and give up Russell, Lonnie Walker and the eight village team, the Lakers can make up only 30.5 million dollars in salary space. Even if the Lakers send both Christie and the 17th sign this year, the salary space that the Lakers can spare is only 35 million dollars.
The starting salary of Owen’s top salary is 47 million dollars. Even if Owen “gave himself up for the Lake” to join the Lakers, the Lakers left Reeves, and the Lakers’ book was only the three giants composed of Zhan Mei and Owen, reeves, other positions can only be supplemented by basic salary, it is inevitable that the top is heavy and the feet are light. In the last three seasons, none of James, Davis and Owen has reached 65 games games played a single season. They are unable to resist the impact of injuries.
It is an idea to sign first and then change, but it is extremely difficult to sign first and then change, which requires the willingness of the Lone Ranger and Russell to cooperate, and the Lakers have to face the limit of $0.1695 billion hard cap. Even if the first sign is successful, the top-heavy problem still exists.
During the off-season this year, Lakers fans can basically give up their illusions about Owen or other big stars. There are hidden dangers of injury in Zhan Mei’s combination, and in the middle of the season, they all said personally that under the premise that “the off-season will consider whether to accept surgery”, the top-heavy route must not be suitable for the Lakers, and taking the deep route is the king.
Therefore, most of the Lakers’ off-season operations can be predicted:
Negotiate with Russell to renew the contract at a reasonable price. According to the labor agreement, Russell is eligible to sign a two-year renewal contract worth US $67.6 million before June 30. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, Russell will become a free agent after June 30. Considering that Russell’s first two rounds of the playoffs were at most moderate and the Western finals performed badly, the Lakers should not give him a contract with an annual salary of $30 million.
Russell’s agent Mintz is very difficult to deal with, and he had some conflicts with the Lakers. However, Mintz is a professional broker after all, and it is meaningless to be emotional. He helped Brunson get a contract of 4 years and 0.104 billion dollars during the off-season last year, if Russell’s average annual salary can be controlled within $25 million or even within $20 million, the Lakers should be willing to sign. After all, in the large sample of the regular season, Russell is quite valuable to the Lakers, and after all, it is only his third playoff game, and there is still the possibility of improvement in the future.
Even if the Lakers want to make a deal with Russell, they should try to renew their contract with Russell first and wait until the deadline for the deal. At that time, DeRozan of the bull, Bradley bill of The Wizard and so on, the old acquaintances of these trading markets may enter the market. As in 2021, the Lakers could not make the mistake of letting Schroeder go in vain without renewing the contract to support the large salary space.
The renewal of Reeves and the eight villages can be solved by spending money. Both of them are restricted free players. The Lakers can quote first. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the Lakers can let the market determine their value. Other teams offer an offer for the two, and the Lakers can match the forced retention.
Vanderbilt’s $4.6 million non-guaranteed contract is bound to be guaranteed, and the Lakers may also talk to him about renewing the contract in advance. What made the Lakers struggle was Beasley’s $16.5 million team option and Bamba’s $10.3 million non-guaranteed contract. Leave them, or directly give up their contracts, or trade them?
Walker, who joined the mini middle class in the off-season last year, was not sure whether to renew his contract. According to the rules, the Lakers could only give him a contract with an annual salary of 7.8 million dollars at most, if Walker enters the free market, he may win a contract of more than 9 million dollars.
Davis had player options in 2024. According to the rules, he was eligible to sign a 3-year contract worth 0.1675 billion dollars after August 4. Considering Davis is still at its peak, the Lakers are likely to talk to Davis to renew his contract ahead of time and try to lock his peak in Los Angeles.
The Lakers have 17 and 47 signatures this year. These two picks are the key to improving the depth of the Lakers. Last year’s new star Christie is growing and is expected to enter rotation next season. It is unknown whether the Lakers will trade with the 17th ticket on draft night. According to the tradition that the Lakers like to explore the two-round show and drop draft, it is also worth paying attention to whether the Lakers will sign up for trading with the 47th sign and which players will sign with two-way contract quota after the draft.
Overall, the Lakers can retain at least the core lineup of this season during the off-season this year, and then reinforce the depth on this basis. But after the series of games with nuggets, if the core players do not have a big self-upgrade, can the Lakers cross the Nuggets next season? If the conclusion is negative, will the Lakers tear down the lineup and make a big deal again?
James has 1+1 left in his contract, and the player option in the last year. At the post-match press conference, he unexpectedly released a signal of possible retirement. Combined with the words “at this stage of my career, I only fight for the championship. I didn’t play to be kicked out in the Western games, and I couldn’t reach the finals without fun”, James’s meaning could not be understood.
Pressure comes to Pelinka. What he needs to do is not only to be fair and not to make mistakes, but also to complete creative operations to show James the hope of winning the championship in the Lakers.