The Lakers have been a focal point of the offseason, as the NBA community is looking to see both the future of LeBron James as well as if Rob Pelinka can build a contending roster. While the Lakers had a rather successful year given the circumstances, finishing third in the Western Conference despite early-season struggles and being plagued by injuries, there was a clear need for roster improvements to keep pace in a competitive Western Conference.
“The Lakers are at best, staying flat and that’s with LeBron James’s future and his motivation in Los Angeles still being very uncertain.”@TimBontemps feels the Lakers still have a lot to do if they want to make a run in the playoffs next season
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— First Take (@FirstTake) July 4, 2025
While the Lakers addressed their void at center by signing Deandre Ayton and resigning Jaxon Hayes and nabbing sharpshooter Jake LaRavia, ESPN writer Tim Bontemps argues that the Lakers are “staying flat” this offseason in a Friday appearance on First Take.
“If the Lakers are gonna be a team that makes a run in the Western Conference playoffs. They have a lot of work left to do,” Bontemps said. “One of [Luka’s] best friends in the league is Dorian Finny-Smith. He just left to go to the Houston Rockets a rival in the Western Conference. That to me is not a great sign for the Lakers doing what they need to, to show Luka Doncic, he should be there long term.”
He continued, “ I do think Deandre Ayton will help them. He’s probably the second best center on the market this summer behind Myles Turner… He is a talented player who can help them and is certainly an upgrade over Jaxon Hayes, who they’ve now assigned to be his backup, as you mentioned earlier. But this team still has a lot of holes on the perimeter, defensively. They have very little perimeter defensive talent. They’re still lacking in shooting. They’re, they’re a team that when you just stack ’em up, player for player. Yes, they finished third in the Western Conference last year. I’d say overall, they’re either the same or a little worse.”
Bomtemps provides a compelling point, and the Lakers appear to be trying to find ways to obtain capable perimeter defenders. The Lakers have been linked to Andrew Wiggins, in which the Miami Heat are demanding a premium to obtain his services. It also appears as if De’Anthony Melton could be signed by the Lakers in their venture to improve their perimeter defense.
But, it will be interesting to see if the moves that the Lakers make will make them competitive next season to maximize their window with Luka Dončić and LeBron James.
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