{"id":79250,"date":"2024-05-29T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=79250"},"modified":"2024-05-29T02:34:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T06:34:58","slug":"2024-nba-off-season-preview-whats-next-for-the-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/29\/2024-nba-off-season-preview-whats-next-for-the-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 NBA Off-Season Preview: What\u2019s Next for the Lakers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers are once again at the center of the headlines when it comes to how their offseason will play out. Between several key decisions and a desire to return to championship glory, here is a deep dive on what to expect of the purple and gold\u2019s summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

2024 NBA Off-Season Preview: What\u2019s Next for the Lakers?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Season Recap<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Lakers\u2019 season began relatively strong, as a 7-6 start bloomed to a 14-9 record, with LA <\/span>winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament<\/span><\/a> behind the dominance of <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their early success wouldn\u2019t last long, however, as the rest of December and beginning of January saw them plummet from 15-10 to 17-19. The team drama followed soon after. There was displeasure over the <\/span>benching<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a> at that time. A bombshell report <\/span>revealing locker room tensions<\/span><\/a> didn\u2019t help matters at all, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers eventually clawed their way back to get above .500 by the trade deadline (27-25), where LA remained quiet despite the many rumors surrounding Russell and others. They looked like a completely different team afterwards, between the backcourt\u2019s red-hot scoring, <\/span>Rui Hachimura<\/span><\/a>\u2019s rise to the starting lineup and Davis\u2019s <\/span>DPOY-worthy rim protection<\/span><\/a>. At 36-30, fans hoped the Lakers could pull off another midseason comeback.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team went <\/span>11-5 to finish the season<\/span><\/a>, but it still wasn\u2019t enough to guarantee them a playoff spot. The Lakers found themselves in the Play-in Tournament for the third time in four years, beating the Pelicans to face the defending-champion Denver Nuggets, who sent them home in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers narrowly avoided a repeat of the WCF, but were instead gentlemen-swept by Denver on <\/span>Jamal Murray<\/span><\/a>‘s <\/span>game-winning shot<\/span><\/a>\u2014<\/span>his second one of the series<\/span><\/a>. The <\/span>whispers of Darvin Ham\u2019s future<\/span><\/a> with the franchise grew louder, and the <\/span>second-year head coach was let go days later<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the Lakers are left without a head coach and with plenty of questions as they navigate arguably the most important offseason in the LeBron and AD era.<\/span><\/p>\n

Projected Cap Space and Draft Picks<\/b><\/h3>\n

Cap Space: $31 million<\/span><\/h4>\n

Draft Picks: Nos. 17 and 55<\/span><\/h4>\n

Primary Targets<\/h4>\n