The Los Angeles Lakers completed a massive squad overhaul this offseason. After a disappointing 2020-21 NBA season, where they failed to defend their 2020 NBA championship, the Lakers decided to do some offseason cleaning to make themselves stronger for the 2021-22 season.
Several former players like Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Kent Bazemore, Wayne Ellington, and Trevor Ariza were welcomed back by Rob Pelink and the Lakers’ front office.
On top of that, the Lakers also brought in a mix of veterans and young players like Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan, Kendrick Nunn, and Malik Monk.
To make room for all these new additions, the Lakers had to let go of a lot of players. Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell were traded to Washington for Westbrook.
Whereas Markieff Morris, Alex Caruso, Jared Dudley, Dennis Schroder, and Andre Drummond among others were not re-signed by the Los Angeles Lakers.
In just 2 seasons, the Lakers have almost entirely changed their entire squad. The Lakers began building a championship team in 2018 when they signed LeBron James in free agency.
And in 2019, additions like Anthony Davis, Danny Green, and Dwight Howard were brought into the mix. The building process paid off quickly, as the Lakers were crowned the 2019-2020 NBA championship.
But that title-winning roster looks extremely different today. Slam Studios posted a picture on Instagram with the 2019-20 Lakers roster, comparing the two squads from then and now.
Only LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Talen Horton-Tucker, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, and Devontae Cacok remain affiliated with the franchise today.
Rondo and Howard left after the championship win in 2020 and only re-signed just recently. As for Cacok, he is still on a two-way contract with the Lakers, and barely gets minutes with the franchise.
As for the departures, Danny Green plays in Philadelphia, Markieff Morris is with the Heat, Alex Caruso is with the Bulls, Avery Bradley is with the Rockets, JaVale McGee signed with Phoenix, and Kyle Kuzma and KCP were traded to the Wizards.
Jared Dudley announced his retirement after not being brought back by the Lakers and is beginning his coaching career as part of Jason Kidd’s staff in Dallas. Quinn Cook and Kostas Antetokounmpo are no longer in the NBA.
The picture shows just how much the Lakers have evolved in the short time since their championship win.
