Even as the spotlight shined on the Lakers’ newest rookies, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, their introductory press conference could not end without questions regarding free agency. In the last 48 hours, the Lakers have only re-signed Max Christie and accepted the player option pick ups by D’Angelo Russell, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish. With the roster at 14 guaranteed contracts and no other tangible moves made, General Manager Rob Pelinka addressed why the purple and gold have been seemingly dormant in the first days of the offseason.
Rob Pelinka Comments on Lakers Slow Free Agency Start
Pelinka’s Comments
When asked about ways to improve the roster, Pelinka emphasized that the team will remain aggressive when it comes to making the necessary changes.
“I think we’re gonna always be aggressive to trying to make roster upgrades, and we’ll be relentless to continue to look at what we can do…We have 14 guys under guaranteed contract with one space, and this is the season of being mindful of all the different things we can approach to improve the roster, so we’re in the midst of that as we speak. That will continue in the coming days, and it often spills into Vegas [Summer League], where all the GMs meet and gather and other deals get done. But yeah, we’ll stay aggressive.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin asked if this summer would be akin to last season, where LA was looking for upgrades all the way until the trade deadline. Pelinka noted that the Lakers, like every NBA team, is now dealing with the first and second aprons of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“If the right deal comes and we have to put in draft picks, we will. I think we’ve talked about it before, where we’re now in the ‘apron world.’ We’ve seen contending teams or championship-level teams have to lose players…Does it make trades more challenging? Yes. Does it make good trades impossible? No. So we’ll continue to pursue upgrades to our roster.“
Where Things Stand Now
As of right now, the Lakers have most of their core pieces back, minus, of course, LeBron James. Three of the four players James is willing to take a pay cut for have all decided on their futures. James Harden is staying with the Clippers. Jonas Valanciunas left the Pelicans for the Wizards. And Klay Thompson—whose father, Mychal Thompson, is a former Showtime Laker and current ESPN radio commentator—famously moved on from the Warriors dynasty in favor of the Dallas Mavericks. That leaves the purple and gold significantly limited in their pursuits of player upgrades.
It’s worth noting the Lakers could have had Thompson and were willing to offer more money and years on his contract. They even offered Russell back to the Warriors via sign-and-trade. But still, Dallas’s status as a title contender and Texas’ lack of income taxes convinced Thompson to join Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving instead of LeBron and Anthony Davis.
Where the Lakers Go From Here
The Lakers have been linked to DeMar DeRozan as a potential pivot to Thompson, and given the Bulls star’s frustration with his current franchise, that could still make sense. Despite being 34 years old and a struggling three-point shooter, DeRozan has continued to put up big numbers and take over in late-game situations—something the Lakers have notoriously lacked outside of LeBron and AD. Whether he’ll be willing to take LA’s Mid-Level Exception—and whether Chicago is remotely interested in one of Russell or, say, Rui Hachimura, as a sign-and-trade centerpiece—is unclear.
Beyond DeRozan and the Bulls, the Lakers are reportedly active in trade talks with the Trail Blazers, Jazz, and Nets. This shouldn’t be surprising, considering their longtime links to certain players on those rosters. While they’re not the most exciting names, a trade for one of Jerami Grant, Collin Sexton, Cam Johnson or Dorian Finney-Smith would still move the needle for a Lakers team in need of their services. It’s way better than signing LeBron to a max contract and living on a prayer that this season is better than the last four.
Here is the Lakers offseason if LeBron James signed for the maximum allowed.
Los Angeles would need to shave roughly $25M (and maybe more) of salary to have access to the $12.8M non-tax mid-level exception.
Any sign-and-trade also hard caps the Lakers at the $178.1M first… pic.twitter.com/SfE30lxlVI
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 2, 2024
The Last Word
Actions speak louder than words, and that’s the mindset that Pelinka and the Lakers should have as free agency continues. There’s been significant movement in the rest of the Western Conference—and the rest of the NBA—while Lakers’ fans patience runs thin awaiting the fruits of the team’s labor. It’s time for the Lakers to make win-now moves instead of resorting to the same approach that has sent them home early without another banner in the rafters.
