On April 7, Beijing time, US media Sports Illustrated analyzed the lakers' offseason prospects, listing 4 major suspense, which is related to how far the Lakers can go in the future.
The first big suspense: will it trade Wei Shao?
Bringing in Westbrook last summer wasn't the only reason the Lakers got into trouble this season, but it was basically the first domino of all the mistakes. Westbrook's deal has left the Lakers with a better option - the introduction of Hield, and also made the Lakers have to give up the depth of the lineup, lose a number of tough players, and can only bring in some role players.
With the exception of Munch, Nunn, Ariza, Bazemore, and Ellington were all largely useless. Trading Westbrook will be an important task for the Lakers in the offseason, and if Westbrook can bring back multiple players in return, even if these players are flawed, it is also a good choice for the Lakers.
The Lakers desperately need young players and pitchers, and if they have the best defensive ability. If an agreement can be reached with the Knicks to bring in Burks and Fournier, it will be better than continuing to use Wei Shao. But Wei Shao's contract is too big, and it is not easy to send him away, which will test the ability of management.
The second big suspense: where will the thick eyebrow brother play?
How to use the thick eyebrow brother is a problem that the Lakers need to face in the next lineup construction. The Lakers' best-case scenario is to put a healthy Davis in the fifth position and deploy defensive players around him and James who can pull out space.
The Lakers have used Howard and Jordan Jr. as starting centers this season, but they have also made Thick Brow a starting center and hid two centers. The Lakers also need to build a lineup for the thick-browed brother to play the role of the key lineup.
In other words, the Lakers need to bring in good 3D big forwards, like a strengthened version of Markiff Morris (such as Jerami Grant), to upgrade the Lakers lineup when they play center. If you just use thick eyebrows to play center, but with 4 outside players, the Lakers' rebounding and defense will still be flawed, and the pressure on the inside line is too great, which is not conducive to his long-term health.
The third big suspense: do you still want to leave little Tucker?
The Lakers chose to keep Tucker Jr. last summer and let Caruso go. Such a choice did not pay off. Caruso was the perfect match for James and the thick-browed brother, with Tucker Jr. not improving on his shots and his defense unstable. The Lakers had planned to trade Tucker Jr. and Nunn as chips in the middle of the season, but unfortunately, the value of Tucker Jr.'s deal dropped sharply, and other teams were not interested.
The Lakers would be wise to continue to consider such operations in the summer. James entered the 20th season of his career, and it became a luxury to cultivate young players, and it was better to look for experienced players with immediate combat strength.
The fourth big suspense: who will replace Vogel?
Vogel's dismissal at the end of the season is essentially unavoidable, though he's not the most important reason for the Lakers' failure. But bringing in a new coach could give the Lakers energy, and that person must also earn the respect of James and Davis and make them willing to take responsibility. Quinn Snyder and Doug Rivers are two of the rumored candidates.
These two can at least win the respect of the Zhan Mei combination.