After this bad season ended, Lakers Vice President of Operations Pelinka twice publicly promised to improve the Lakers' lineup, and there will be some changes in every position in their lineup. In almost the first three months of the offseason, the Lakers have not made any changes to the lineup. They have only cleaned up and transformed the coaching staff. Although Hamm's arrival has made Lakers fans a little frustrated, but from Pei Judging from the reactions of Linka and James and others, they are very satisfied with this "amateur" coach in the eyes of fans. Ham has also started to form a new coaching staff. As a defensive coach, he has hired shooting Coach Chris Gent serves as the team's head assistant next season. The Lakers' first deal was completed, James recruited Irving , and Pelinka had a chance for redemption.
As a fan, everyone pays more attention to the changes in the Lakers' lineup than the coaching staff. To put it bluntly, the Lakers' lineup this season is old, short, and slow. There is basically no upper limit for any historical-level coach to lead it. It will be high, and with the continuous injuries in the team's lineup, in everyone's eyes, Vogel is just a person who takes the blame. Earlier, Pelinka completed the Lakers' first trade this offseason. According to NBA reporter Woj, the Lakers sent a 2028 second-round pick and some cash. They exchanged this year's second-round pick from the Magic. The 35th overall pick. The Lakers have been working hard to obtain a draft pick this year, and it was previously revealed that they could use 4.7 million to buy a second-round pick.
According to supplementary reports, the Lakers’ target rookie has been released. Lakers new coach Ham took a fancy to a rookie during the trial training, and he told Pelinka to work hard to get this kid. Originally, the management was still hesitant to buy a high-quality player. They still bought a pick at the bottom of the second round. After Ham's statement, they got the Magic's 35th pick, which was very high in the second round. In addition, in addition to receiving part of the Lakers' cash, the Magic received the 2028 second-round pick, whichever is higher among the Wizards and the Lakers. In other words, if the Lakers are still competitive by then, they may even You can keep this second-round pick.
Finding some talented young people to train has always been what Ham hopes to do in the Lakers. In addition, leading the team to compete for the championship again is Ham's top priority, although Pelinka does not seem to be doing anything. However, James couldn't sit still. According to a report by NBA reporter Stein, there is definite news that James and Nets guard Irving had exchanges during this period. James' recruitment of Irving has attracted widespread attention. At first, this news was not very convincing because Irving is unlikely to exercise next season's player option. He can sign a maximum salary with a starting salary of more than 40 million US dollars if he breaks out of the contract. Sign-and-trade will hit the hard salary cap . The Lakers are already a super-cap team and cannot sign-and-trade. If they want to sign Irving, they can only let the latter accept the mid-level exception of $6 million.
This is almost impossible. Earlier, NBA reporter Shams said that Irving will execute the US$36.9 million contract next season and then seek a deal. The Nets have also reached an agreement with Irving. They also They hope to trade Irving away. In this way, the Lakers will become the frontrunner for Irving's next home, because once Irving exercises the player option, he will be equivalent to a one-year contract worth $36.9 million. There is no sign-and-trade. , this is a very ordinary transaction, and there is no problem of touching the salary cap. As long as the chips are enough, the transaction can be completed.
After Irving was revealed to have decided to implement the player option, there will definitely be no shortage of people recruiting him, and James will certainly be no exception. He praised Irving many times during the playoffs, saying that he and Durant are skilled The strongest duo in the NBA, Irving also expressed his goodwill to James many times on the podcast. He also said that if he had not left James, he would probably be in Los Angeles now, in James' backpack.Next, the question is left to Pelinka. If the operation gets Irving, it is the most critical. Obviously, the Nets will not want Westbrook . Unless the Nets completely overturn the reconstruction, otherwise Westbrook and Simon The combination of will definitely be another disaster.
In this case, Westbrook's parent team Thunder stepped forward. They are considered to be one of the few teams willing to accept Westbrook. The Lakers can try to get the Thunder and Nets to conduct a three-party trade. Each team gets what they need, and the Thunder also have enough salary space. This is the best way for the Lakers to deal with Westbrook's contract while still remaining competitive. To be honest, in my opinion, if the Lakers want to return to the championship next season, getting rid of Westbrook is a necessary transaction. Even in the eyes of many people, even if there is no return, as long as Westbrook can be Leaving is considered a success. Next, everything will be left to the management. The time has come for Pelinka to fulfill his promise.
