According to ESPN, the Lakers were swept out by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, and on May 24, Beijing time, the Lakers held a season farewell press conference, and general manager Pelinka talked about the direction of the Lakers' offseason reinforcements, saying that the Lakers' priority goal is to retain this core lineup. This means that the so-called Kyrie Irving and Trae Young are basically not in the Lakers' recruitment plan.
Before the mid-season trade deadline, LeBron James' intention to want the Lakers to bring in Irving was very obvious, and the Lakers did try, but they failed to reach a trade agreement with the Nets. After Irving joined the Mavericks, James publicly expressed his disappointment with the Lakers' failure to bring in Irving.
Then Young has already twice been rumored that the Lakers may have brought in Young after the Hawks became embroiled in trade rumors, and considering that Young is also a client of James' agent Rich Paul, this rumor will not come as a surprise.
The problem is that the Lakers simply don't have the salary space to chase Irving, nor do they have enough chips to trade for Yang.
If the Lakers cut Vanderbilt and Bamba, do not implement Beasley's team options, and give up Russell, Walker, and Hachimura, the Lakers can free up only $30.5 million in salary space. Even if the Lakers send Christie and this year's No. 17 pick away, the Lakers can free up salary space of only $35 million, while Irving's top salary starting salary is $47 million, a bit of a big gap. Young also earns more than $40 million a year, and the Lakers don't have enough chips to equalize their salaries and don't have enough draft picks.
This means that the Lakers also have to start from stability. Pelinka stressed that after making significant changes to the squad in successive years, their priority goal this time is to retain the core squad and build around the James, leaving behind the heroes who have performed well this season.
In other words, the Lakers will prioritize keeping key puzzle pieces such as Austin Reeves and Hachimura.
"We were eventually beaten by a team with a very consistent squad," Pelinka said, "and their group of players have been working together for several years, and their performance shows their rapport. We feel like we've got some very special players who want to work with each other and we know there's room for improvement and growth in the team, especially if we start working together from training camp. ”
"I think conceptually we proved that this is a good team, but we will not rest on our laurels and if there is a chance to get better, we will definitely look to continue to improve. However, we already have a really good core squad and that's a good place to start. ”
Pelinka made it clear that Rivers and Hachimura were what he wanted to stay. What has entangled the Lakers is D'Angelo Russell, who did not perform well in the Western Conference Finals and lost his starter in Game 4. Schroder, who started Russell in Game 4, will also become a free agent, and Lonnie Walker, who has been a frequent player in the playoffs, has his contract expired, and the Lakers have a series of decisions to make.