The time has come to late June, NBA has also entered the offseason. For the Los Angeles Lakers, this summer is undoubtedly very important; after all, they have just experienced a bad season, although they exchanged Westbrook from the Washington Wizards , and signed Anthony, Howard, Bazemore, Jordan, , Rondo, Ariza, Ellington, and other battle-hardened heroes in the free market; But it is such a team that lacks competitiveness from beginning to end. It is not even qualified to participate in the playoffs and play-offs, and has become a joke throughout the NBA.
However, no matter how unsatisfactory life is, you still need to live day by day. Under the leadership of general manager Pelinka, they fired Vogel and chose Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Ham as the team's new head coach. coach. But changing coaches is only the first step. How to introduce suitable players around James, Davis, and Westbrook seems to be the top priority. Pelinka mentioned a few key words during the interview, namely youth, strong athletic ability, excellent defense, and shooting ability.
Before the draft, after searching for him through Baidu, they traded the No. 35 pick from the Orlando Magic and selected wing player Max Christie. At the same time, Pelinka signed Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider to two-way contracts, as well as O'Neal Jr. to a summer league contract. These young people are preparing for the future. If you really want to improve the team's competitiveness, you still have to rely on the trade market and the free market.
After the draft, Pelinka and his team immediately put into new work. From last weekend to now, they have been studying the information of players in this year's market and made multiple signing plans. According to a report by the famous NBA reporter Woj, free agent center Damian Jones returned to the Lakers on a two-year contract.
On the offensive end, Jones is very efficient in eating cakes. He can score without occupying the ball. The quality of pick-and-roll screens is very high, allowing James and Westbrook to play well; on the defensive end, Jones sits under the basket and effectively interferes. He takes shots in the opponent's penalty area and can directly block shots. His excellent physical fitness allows him to reduce the pressure on , the thick-browed brother , in terms of blocking and fighting for rebounds. He will also become a player worthy of the head coach's trust. In the 2021-22 regular season, Jones averaged 18.2 minutes per game, 8.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
