A path to prosperity that doesn't involve Paul George or Lebron James
What if I told you, the Lakers could strike out on max free agents this summer and still put together a very competitive roster next season?
With all the discussion surrounding the star free agents, I thought it would be fun to run through a scenario where we miss out on all the sexy names. So let's get to it - the Lakers miss out on Lebron James and Paul George and refuse to make a trade for Kawhi Leonard (because that's an entirely different scenario). Where does that leave us? I won't get too deep into the details, but this should serve as a good guide to anyone worried about this summer.
Before doing anything, we start the summer with only Ball, Ingram, Kuzma, Hart, Bryant, Zubac (non-guaranteed), Ennis (non-guaranteed), and Deng on the roster. We also have Randle's cap hold and restricted free agency rights. Of note, Lopez, KCP, and Thomas are all unrestricted free agents. Assuming those three guys walk (for simplicity's sake) and we keep Randle, here's how things look:
C: Randle, Zubac/Bryant
PF: Kuzma, Deng
SF: Ingram
SG: Hart
PG: Ball, Ennis
I'm not mad at that starting five, but it's young and super thin, so the first thing we need to do is find help on the wing. Remember, we're assuming no KCP, so where to next? Can I interest you in one Avery Bradley? Maybe, but the advanced stats haven't liked him for three years now, so no thanks. How about Will Barton? He's 27, 6'6", shoots 37% from 3, and a decent defender looking for a bigger role. I can work with that.
We could still use another wing player though. What if we head further east and take a swing at Wayne Ellington? Not a good defender, but the dude shoots a scorching 39% from 3 point range. Somebody get that dude a Lakers jersey.
I'm still not thrilled with our center spot though because I'd rather Randle plays mainly at PF. I also remember how important Lopez's shooting was last season, so I need to find a cheap stretch 5 that can protect the rim. Good luck finding that, right? Maybe not. Enter Dewayne Dedmon. 7'0" tall. Veteran. Can protect the rim. Averaged 14 and 9 per 36 on a terrible Atlanta team. Shoots threes at 35%. Just good enough to be interesting. Let's roll with Dedmon for 20 minutes a game and then have Randle finish games at small-ball center.
So now we're looking like this:
C: Dedmon, Zubac/Bryant
PF: Randle, Kuzma, Deng
SF: Ingram, Barton
SG: Hart, Ellington
PG: Ball, Ennis
It's good, but I'd really like to make sure Ennis never ever plays, so I'm drafting a PG at 25. Maybe I can get Jalen Brunson there. College veteran. Proven winner. Good shooter. Played at Villanova. Sounds like a good bet. I'm also still a little thin on the wing, so at 47 I'm drafting the most athletic wing player still available. Let's take a flyer on Diallo and send him to South Bay to see what happens.
Now I think I'm set. I hardly spent any money compared to the two max plan, filled out the roster with trade-able players, and added an upside project. So now, even though we completely failed at the two max plan and all our free agents left us, we're looking like this:
C: Dedmon, Zubac/Bryant
PF: Randle, Kuzma, Deng
SF: Ingram, Barton, Diallo
SG: Hart, Ellington, GPII (two way)
PG: Ball, Brunson, Caruso (two way), Ennis
We're not going to win a title with that roster, but neither is anyone else unless Durant retires abruptly. But this I know - we're going to have a hell of a good time next season with that roster. And if two of Ball, Ingram, Kuzma, and Randle become all-stars in the next couple years, we already have the role players and can start talking about championships again. That's a pretty solid worst case scenario.
GO LAKERS!