The Lakers want to turn over but what do they have to do in the offseason? If it is impossible to send away the Wei Shao Zi Jin Army, it is afraid of falling into a dead end

The Lakers' 2021-22 season ended early, and the ending of the playoffs shows that the Lakers' ambitious season has suffered a complete failure.

Considering that LeBron James still maintains excellent competitive form at the age of 37, Anthony Davis's performance in health is not bad, as long as the James are combined, the Lakers still have the possibility of turning over, and the Lakers will definitely aim to make a comeback in the offseason. The problem is that, unlike the past three offseasons, this year's Lakers may not be able to do a big job.

The presence of Russell Westbrook presents a super-S-level problem for the Lakers, if the Lakers can't give the best solution to this problem, they will face the dilemma of nothing, and it is difficult to effectively reinforce it.

How should the Westbrook contract be handled?

This season, West juniors earned $44.21 million, and next season he has player options worth $47.06 million. If Wei Shao jumped out of the contract to become a free agent, he would certainly not get such a high salary, and no one would be unable to live with money, so Wei Shao would definitely not jump out of the contract. Then the super S-level problem is in front of the Lakers: should the Lakers trade Wei Shao, or use the extension regulations to lay off Wei Shao?

Before the trade deadline, the Lakers did not consider sending Wei Shao away, but asked a circle, except for the Rockets, no team is willing to take over Wei Shao. The Rockets also have prerequisites for taking over Westbrook, the Lakers need to take away John Wall, and have to give the Rockets a first-round pick as compensation. Under the circumstances at the time, the Lakers were not sure whether Wall, who had not played for a season, could help the Lakers improve their strength, nor was they willing to sacrifice the first round of signings, so the deal collapsed.

Next season, Wei Shao enters the contract year, and in theory, the difficulty of the Lakers to deal with him is reduced a little, but the Lakers still have to pay for it if they want to send Wei Shao away. "The Athletic" expert Hollinger believes that the most likely to take over Westbrook this summer is the Thunder, but the Lakers must complete the deal by July 1. Because after July 1, Alexander's maximum salary contract will take effect, and the Thunder will lose the salary space to eat Westbrook's contract. Hollinger analyzed that the Lakers can send Out Westbrook, 2027 and 2029 minor protection first-round picks, replacing Favors, Jerome, Ken Ridge Williams.

If such a transaction is made, the Lakers' salary pressure will be much lower, and they can be reinforced with a full middle-class exception with an annual salary of tens of millions of dollars and a biennial exception. The Lakers could also get a huge $34 million deal exception to use to bring in players.

Now the situation is very clear, the Lakers want to send away Wei Shao, you have to send out the first round of 2027 and 2029. The question is, 2027 and 2029 are too far away, and is lakers management willing to give up future first-round picks so early? The Lakers' 2022 first-round pick is an example, when they gave it to the Pelicans, they didn't expect to even score the playoffs now.

The Lakers can also lay off Westbrook by extending the exception and pay off his $47 million salary for three years, but this means that Westbrook will occupy $15.7 million in the Lakers' salary space each season for the next three seasons. The Lakers have to get rid of the burden of Luol Deng in the offseason this year, and immediately carry more heavy baggage, and carry it for three years, is it worth it? Moreover, even if the Lakers cut Wei Shao, they only lowered the luxury tax, and could not free up enough salary space to sign powerful freemen, which is of little significance.

How to reinforce the expiration of multi-person contracts?

No matter how difficult it is to deal with Westbrook's contract, the Lakers must give a solution, which is the big premise of the Lakers' offseason operation. Because only by reasonably disposing of Wei Shao's contract can the Lakers make reinforcements.

The Lakers have limited trading leverage and need to be concentrated in Westbrook trading. Tucker Jr.'s trading value has fallen to the freezing point, and even if Nunn executes the player option to stay, his trading value is not high. The Lakers also don't have draft picks available, and the only things they can use this summer are special cases and base salaries.

This offseason, with the exception of James, Davis, Tucker Jr., Westbrook, who has player options, and Nunn, who hasn't played a second this season, the Other Lakers players will become free agents. If Westbrook's contract cannot be disposed of, the Lakers will only be able to use the $6 million annual luxury tax middle class exception and the veteran's base salary to supplement the reinforcement. If the Lakers can handle Westbrook's contract as Hollinger suggested, the Lakers will have more room to operate.

Among the players who have returned to free agency, the Lakers definitely want to keep Malik Munch and Austin Reeves, of which Reeves is relatively easy to operate, but Munch has played a price this season, and industry insiders currently predict that his new contract salary will be between $5 million and $10 million a year. The Lakers want to keep him, and it may not be enough to rely on a luxury tax middle class exception, and the Lakers are counting on this middle class exception to bring in other reinforcements.

Last offseason, the Lakers filled the gap in the lineup with a bunch of veterans' basic salaries, when Veterans such as Cameron Anthony and Bazemore came to the championship and accepted the basic salary. But as the Lakers suffered two consecutive years of defeat, the Lakers' appeal to free agents declined. In the current situation of the Lakers, it is difficult for them to attract young combat forces like Munch with a basic salary.

For three years, the Lakers have had problems with their operational thinking, hoarding too many guards but seriously understaffing the flanks. This offseason, the Lakers will definitely work towards the introduction of point guards who can hold the ball to block and shoot, and strengthen the flanks, but these two types of players are scarce and the price is high, and it is extremely difficult to strengthen the Lakers' salary situation.

Who will take over vogel?

Vogel's offseason is basically a foregone conclusion, and insiders revealed that the Lakers will part ways with Vogel after the end of the season. Jazz coach Snyder and 76ers coach Rivers are potential candidates.

In addition to these two famous coaches who carry contracts, there are not many coaches on the market that meet the needs of the Lakers. The style of play advocated by running bomb master Mike D'Antoni is not suitable for the James combination, and it is also unknown whether other former Blazers coach Stotts and Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown are willing to take over the Lakers.

There is also a possibility that lakers top Coach Lambis will take over directly, but the problem is that Rambis has a terrible coaching resume, and insiders reveal that he has no desire to do so.

The Lakers' coaching work in the offseason will be affected by a variety of factors, and Pelinka will definitely have to listen to the opinions of the Zhan Mei combination, which is destined to be an easy task.