The Los Angeles Lakers will surely look to have an offseason that can help the franchise turn things around after a disastrous 2021-22 NBA campaign.
After entering last season as perceived titled contenders, the Lakers failed to even advance to the play-in tournament.
One thing that would certainly help the team’s fans move on from the let down that was last season would be a big offseason acquisition. One superstar that was recently mentioned in relation to the Lakers is Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal.
“The one name that I’ve heard recently is Bradley Beal as another guy that they want,” Kevin O’Connor reported on The Void podcast. “I’m not sure if the interest is as mutual. You know Beal, it seems like Miami would be more of the threat to take him away from Washington. I don’t think you can also rule out Boston either because of his relationship with Jayson Tatum, but the Lakers are trying to angle for some moves like that using the Russ expiring and the ’27 and the ’29 firsts.”
Of course, Beal joining the Lakers would immediately turn them into title contenders once again. Beal only played in 40 games last season after injuring his wrist midway through the season, but in 40 games he averaged 23.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
With that in mind, there are two really important factors for Lakers fans to consider.
First off, the report itself indicates that the Lakers may not be as attractive a landing spot for Beal as some would expect. Though the Lakers are a true legacy franchise and have a ton of talent on the roster, there is also a lot of uncertainty.
The team has a new coaching staff after firing Frank Vogel. Moreover, though LeBron James is still very much a superstar, it cannot be ignored that he is now 37 years old.
Beyond that, it is not at all a certainty that the Lakers possess the kind of trade assets needed to acquire a star like Beal. Over the last few seasons, the Lakers have decimated their trade assets to pick up players like Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
As a result the Lakers have very little flexibility when it comes to trying to angle for premier talent on the trade market.
Though Lakers fans would surely love for this offseason to be one filled with fireworks, it seems just as likely that the team makes very few moves and goes into next season with a relatively unchanged roster.
