After whiffing on Kyrie Irving, the Los Angeles Lakers quickly shifted focus to Patrick Beverley, who they were able to acquire in a deal with the Utah Jazz.
Beverley brings energy and defense to the squad and should make a nice rotation player next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. But according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Lakers President/GM Rob Pelinka isn’t yet done making moves.
If the Lakers acquire Buddy Hield and Myles Turner from Indiana, they would lose significant cap space with Hield’s projected $19.2 million salary for 2023-24 and even more if they re-sign Turner, a free agent-to-be. The upside of that move, of course, is that the 2022-23 roster would be much better with Hield and Turner, and they’re young enough (Hield is 29 and Turner is 26) to not drop off during the projected two-to-three-year window of the James-Davis core. Acquiring, say, Bojan Bogdanović (among others) in a potential three-team trade in which Donovan Mitchell ends up in New York and Westbrook goes to Utah would better fit the Lakers’ goal of retaining cap space next summer, since Bogdanović also is an impending unrestricted free agent.
Either way, this isn’t the Lakers’ final roster. Another move is coming at some point. They are unlikely to make another deal right away, but the team is still actively pursuing Westbrook deals and other avenues to improve the roster before training camp, according to league sources.
On paper, the Lakers already have a core that can compete against anyone. With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, the Purple and Gold certainly have enough combined talent and experience to make some serious noise. They have shown how good they can be at their best.
But we have also seen how those three play together, and some big adjustments will need to be made if things are to unfold successfully for L.A. Hopefully, Rob Pelinka is able to get a few more trades done that will improve the overall state of the roster.
If not, the Lakers could be headed down a path similar to last season. We will find out soon enough what is in store for them this upcoming campaign.
