The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers season couldn't have gone worse. They were banged up, their chemistry was poor, and they didn't even make the playoffs. At age 37, even LeBron James could only do so much.
Rob Pelinka revamped a roster that had won the NBA championship just two seasons ago. Developing chemistry takes time and they were barely healthy all season. But even at full strength, the roster just wasn't a good fit.
With that in mind, the purple and gold have set their sights on multiple targets to improve from this season's fiasco. Per Sean Deveney of Heavy, they could go after Duncan Robinson, Christian Wood, or Malik Beasley.
NBA Rumors: Lakers Have Three Trade Targets In Mind
"Who could the Lakers target with the pair? It might be tough to get anything done without giving up a future first-rounder, and the Lakers are short in that respect—they can’t trade a pick until 2027, and are reluctant to give up picks that far out," Deveney wrote. "But it won’t be impossible. The exec threw out, hypothetically, Duncan Robinson of the [Miami] Heat, Malik Beasley of the [Minnesota] Timberwolves, and Christian Wood of the [Houston] Rockets."
For any of these moves to happen, they'd have to part ways with coveted youngster Talen Horton-Tucker. They refused to include him in any trades a couple of seasons ago, yet he was underwhelming last season when asked to take a step forward.
But then again, he's shown glimpses of elite scoring ability and explosiveness from time to time. Maybe, all he needs is a change of scenery to finally break out as the future star some scouts think he'll be.
The Lakers don't have the financial flexibility to operate, especially with Russell Westbrook's mammoth contract. So, making moves will be tricky, but Pelinka needs to work overtime to revert this mess.
