The Los Angeles Lakers got younger when they swapped Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic, but make no mistake: they are still in the business of winning now. Unfortunately, ahead of a pivotal summer, the public is still split on how the Lakers will stack up to the rest of the West, and former champion Danny Green went so far as to say they won’t win anything at all unless major roster changes are made.
“I think they’re explosive offensively,” said Green on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast. “I think they lack a lot defensively… I don’t know how many years he (James) has left longer, and it’s think it’s just really hard to win a championship when your best player is 40 years old… Next year, LeBron is going to be 41….He can still average 30, 20-something, but I just don’t see them winning a championship with that formula right now.”
It’s important to note that Danny has no ill will against the Lakers. He was part of that 2020 team that won the Finals, and he saw LeBron’s greatness up close when he averaged 25.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game to finish second in MVP voting at 35 years old.
Going into next season, LeBron isn’t expected to have a steep decline, but he’ll be 40 and running on fumes to finish out his career. With retirement always on the back of his mind, one has to wonder how much longer James can keep playing at an elite, All-Star level.
Couple this with the loss of Anthony Davis, and it’s easier to understand why Green (and other critics) are hesitant about the Lakers. They broke up the duo that won their last championship, and there’s no guarantee that their current roster is good enough to get the job done.
Even after adding Luka Doncic to the fold, with head coach JJ Redick to maximize his skills, the Lakers still lost in the very first round in a brutal matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite the best efforts of the new roster, they could only win one game before their elimination, and there is no easy fix going into next season.
The top priority for GM Rob Pelinka is to add a center and fill out the frontcourt for Luka Doncic. They were stuck with Jaxon Hayes last season, but with several options for an upgrade this summer, they’re likely going to be much stronger in the frontcourt going forward.
With limited cap flexibility, the Lakers can only change so much, but if they’re able to add another star to the mix, it could make them the favorites in the West. A package of Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, and their last first-round pick should be enough to land a major name, like potentially Kevin Durant or even Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Assuming they don’t run it back, the Lakers are bound to start next season with some major roster upgrades, but it may still not be enough. In the Wild West, teams like the Thunder, Rockets, and Timberwolves are only going to get stronger, and the Lakers must do everything they can to ensure they don’t fall behind further than they already are.
