The Los Angeles Lakers may miss out on a big name acquisition to bolster their roster this season, which will likely leave LeBron James incensed as the iconic NBA superstar could miss the playoffs for the second successive year.
The Lakers have endured a torrid 2022/23 campaign so far. They are clinging onto a 14-21 record, and their spirited resurgence was dealt a bitter blow when Anthony Davis suffered a frustrating injury to rob the franchise of its momentum.
Prior to Davis’ ill-timed injury, the Lakers were on a season-best four-game winning streak against the Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs. However, the team have performed far worse without the presence of the eight-time All-Star.
On Christmas Day, the Lakers suffered a festive collapse as they conceded 51 points in the third quarter - the most points scored by a team in a single quarter in the NBA this season - to falter against Luka Doncic and co. en route to a 124-115 loss. Los Angeles bounced back against the Orlando Magic - winning 129-110 - before suffering another loss, this time to the 18-17 Miami Heat.
The Lakers fanbase - along with James - desperately want to see some moves made by the front office in order to improve the team and try to maximise their superstar’s form in his twilight years. In his 20th season, James is averaging 27.1 points per game while shooting 49.9% from the floor.
However, recent reports have surfaced suggesting the team may be unchanged for the rest of the season with the current roster set to remain as is. The makeup of the current roster is poor and unbalanced, and the front office is reportedly saving draft capital in case an unsettled star like Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards forces a move and becomes available.
Once Russell Westbrook’s enormous $47.1million contract expires at the end of the season, the Lakers still won’t actually have that much to spend. The franchise will have roughly $30m available to spend in free agency next summer depending on what they do with certain contract options.
Players like Austin Reaves could be retained, so there is a genuine possibility that the Lakers will only have around $15-20m to spend in free agency next summer. This impacts the team’s ability to move for a star like Beal, as they would have to trade a large number of contracts to make it work.
If the Lakers are going to trade their future draft picks for a star, it must be while Westbrook is under contract. Once that contract is up, so are LA’s chances of trading for a star.
Ultimately, the Lakers haven’t won a playoff series since the 2019/20 season which ended in the Orlando bubble with James and Davis winning the championship. They’ve struggled since, crashing out in the first round against the Phoenix Suns the following season before not even reaching the postseason last time out after bringing Westbrook into the fold.
The Lakers are next in action against the 17-18 Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
