When it comes to the Lakers, we all know that their success begins and ends with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As long as those two are healthy and playing well, the Lakers will always be a force to fear in the West. Even now, after losing in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers can be proud of the progress they made.
As for what’s next, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka confirmed that he prefers to keep the young core (Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, and Vanderbilt) together rather than trying to split them up for spare parts.
“I’d say this resoundingly clear,” said Pelinka, “our intentions are to keep our core of young guys together.”
Pelinka: "I’d say this resoundingly clear, our intentions are to keep our core of young guys together."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) May 23, 2023
It makes sense that Pelinka would want to keep this group intact. After the trade deadline, those guys made the difference for the Lakers and contributed to a miraculous run to the Conference Finals.
Of course, keeping them all and building a team that can contend in the West is extremely complicated and will require a lot of things to work in their favor this summer.
Can The Lakers Win A Title Next Season?
So, with LeBron James at 38 years old and Anthony Davis refusing to step up and take the reigns as a leader on the court, it has left the Lakers in a very interesting position. On the one hand, they can double down on their star duo and hope to squeeze one last run out of this core… or, if LeBron decides to walk away, they can focus on rebuilding around their young core and building up their asset pool.
The decision, ultimately, rests on the shoulders of Rob Pelinka.
“Laker Nation, it’s a couple things we now know…we have the right Coach with Darvin Ham, two superstars in LeBron and Anthony Davis, and emerging stars in Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. Hopefully, Rob Pelinka will have an outstanding offseason and build on this Playoff run,” said Magic Johnson.
This year, it’s Denver’s turn to represent the West, but that doesn’t mean the window has slammed shut for the Lakeshow. With a few more tweaks and some lucky breaks, the Lakers can return to this position next year stronger than ever.
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