Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka has divulged details regarding the team’s drafting strategy going into this summer. Addressing the media on Tuesday, the executive spoke about the roster changes and their plans to not involve too many.
The Lakers had reshuffled their roster mid-season, with significant changes such as adding D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and shifting Austin Reaves into a better role.
“We want to try out hardest to keep this core together,” Pelinka was quoted by Dan Woike from the Los Angeles Times.
Why Lakers are committed to their goal this summer?
Rob Pelinka clarified that the team was not planning to make drastic changes. Instead, they wanted to keep the Western Conference team’s core intact. In terms of changes, the team is planning to add a few “defensive-minded, selfless players,” into their roster, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
Rob Pelinka said the Lakers are targeting tough, defensive-minded, selfless players in free agency. He echoed that the plan continues to be running it back with marginal upgrades.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) June 27, 2023
After a fairly successful 2023 season, GM Pelinka seemed fairly optimistic about the Lakers’ future performances and goals. He has a strong conviction regarding the team’s upcoming achievements. He was quoted saying,
“I think we believe in the proof of concept of this group, and we saw defensively what we were able to do to finish the season out, and I think defense and rebounding wins championships … We want to lean into that.”
Why three-point shooters are important for Lakers?
The Lakers’ management must make quite a few serious decisions for the upcoming season, and it has to be done within this offseason itself. Reaves and Hachimura have become restricted free agents. Although it is possible to re-sign them, it may prove to be an expensive affair.
Other crucial players such as Russell, Schroder, Walker, and Brown have also chosen free agency, making the chances of retaining that core team pretty slim. Beasley and Bamba also have team offers, but the Lakers must choose whether to pick them up or not.
The Lakers want to continue their playoff run and the responsibility to make that happens lies on Rob Pelinka. In case he is able to retain most of the core, the Lakers will definitely be in great shape in the next season. Roping at least Reaves and Hachimura back is pivotal for the team’s success.
Summarizing thoroughly, although this season has been an amazing ride, the next one requires efforts from Rob Pelinka to be equally positive. The team must aim to dive deep into another playoff run in 2024.
What are your thoughts on the Lakers roster and the potential changes that could be made?
