After reaching the 2023 Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers seem to be as close to title contention as they have been in multiple years.
When the 2023-24 season starts, the team may have a roster that looks a lot like it did when the 2022-23 season ended. However, the Lakers would be wise to make some improvements around the edges, and it sounds like one player to keep an eye on is Kevin Love.
“As for the Lakers, Tristan Thompson, Wenyen Gabriel and Troy Brown all could be contenders to return,” wrote Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “The team could look to former LeBron James teammate Kevin Love. (Wow, is this really the first mention of James? No one thinks he’s retiring, FYI.)”
Love, who will be 35 by the time the upcoming season begins, certainly isn’t the All-Star big man he used to be, but he’s still a serviceable rotation player in the NBA.
The veteran split time between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat in the 2022-23 season. After joining the Heat, he helped them reach the NBA Finals and played a big role along the way.
Love appeared in 20 playoff games and started 18 of them. Although he averaged just 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game along the way, he showed that he’s still a threat from beyond the arc, knocking down 37.5 percent of his 3-pointers.
When Love and James were teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers, they made history by winning the 2016 NBA title. Without a doubt, the Lakers would be looking for a similar outcome if they were to make the two veterans teammates again.
Love will soon become an unrestricted free agent. Los Angeles has been linked to a handful of players lately as the league prepares for an extremely busy time of year.
There’s an expectation that the 2023 offseason could be very chaotic and lead to a “major reset” in the league. It’s no guarantee that the Lakers are going to make a big splash this summer, but if they can improve their roster marginally and give their group a full season to get on the same page, they’re likely going to be a factor in the Western Conference when the new season begins.
