The Los Angeles Lakers made a couple of minor moves at the beginning of the offseason. They got younger and more athletic, and theyāre expected to be better with a fully-healthy Anthony Davis.
Nonetheless, as good as their core is, it still feels like they need to make more additions if they want to keep up in the wild Western Conference. Naturally, their salary cap situation makes that an uphill battle.
Still, the Lakers are far from done making moves. Recently, GM Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss affirmed that theyāre still actively trying to improve the roster to bounce back from last seasonās disappointment.
NBA News: Jeanie Buss Says Theyāll Make Mor Roster Moves Soon
āWe still have work to do,ā Buss told NBA.com. āWeāre not done. Until training camp starts, weāre not going to rest until weāre satisfied that we have the best chance for success.We have to fill out a roster. So I think that Rob knows that every opportunity we can get to improve our team, he has to look at it. Those are the kind of moves that weāre going to make because we want to be back in the playoffs and contending for a title.ā
A Trade For Kyrie Irving Would Lock LeBron James Up As Well
The word around the league is that the Lakers are eagerly trying to trade Russell Westbrook for Kyrie Irving. According to Marc Stein, that would also assure that LeBron James signs a contract extension:
āThis is more reminder than reporting: LeBron becomes eligible for a two-year contract extension in the $100 million range on Aug. 4. Thatās less than a month away and those talks could (stress: could) be influenced by the state of the Lakersā roster (or inject the Irving pursuit with some fresh urgency),ā Stein wrote.
The Nets are reportedly asking for multiple first-round picks in any Kyrie Irving trade. The Lakers, on the other hand, want to get the deal done with players only, so it could be a while before thereās any real traction.
