Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said on May 16 that the team is entering an important offseason with several ways to improve the roster around superstar guard Luka Doncic. Pelinka highlighted the team’s salary cap space, a first-round draft pick, and other trade assets as tools for potential upgrades.
Pelinka said that having multiple options, or “optionality,” is especially valuable under the current collective bargaining agreement. “I think that is a really good and the right word to use is optionality in this double-apron CBA, that’s almost an effective hard cap,” Pelinka said during his end-of-season press conference. “I think having optionality to roster plan and roster build, there are several ways to do it.
“There’s in the Draft, there’s through trades — where some teams are going to be getting off good players in this harsh system — and then there’s through free agency. We do have the optionality to look to all those different avenues to get better. The archetype of the roster we want is going to be retrofitted around Luka and the things he needs. Clearly, he’s that leader and player for the future that we want to build the right way around.”
The Lakers must also make decisions regarding their own free agents such as Austin Reaves and LeBron James. Both players could take up significant salary cap space if re-signed, potentially limiting other moves by management. When asked about making improvements while retaining both Reaves and James, Pelinka said: “Absolutely,” adding: “There’s 15 roster spots, so if you mention three players, that leaves you 12 others to build around. There’s the three two-way spots, and we’ve seen two-way players emerge and make a difference in regular-season wins. We have enough tools in our tool chest to build out a team, for sure. JJ and I have a lot of confidence in our ability to do that this offseason and start next fall with a team that we’re all super proud of that can get to the end.”
Team priorities include improving athleticism on the wing, strengthening perimeter defense, and upgrading at center with an athletic rim-running big man who fits well alongside Doncic.
The Lakers will also consider bringing back Marcus Smart if he opts out of his contract this summer along with evaluating other free agents like Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard.
