Los Angeles Lakers

47-35 season, IST champion, Lost 4-1 to Nuggets

Under contract: Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis

Player option: LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish

Projected salary cap space: From $30.7 million under the cap, to $83 million over (already over the First Apron)

Next moves: Re-sign LeBron, get a new coach… and a third star?

LeBron James impressively keeps fending off Father Time, but this first round exit seems like a waste of great (and healthy!) seasons from both him and Anthony Davis. They went above and beyond what was expected, but basically everyone else failed them.

The inconsistent Lakers dropped so many winnable games, which led to the worst possible first-round match-up and an early exit. Darvin Ham and his staff have been fired, and a lot of blame got (fairly) put on his questionable coaching, but it should also go to the Lakers management. Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka were the ones who hired Ham, constructed the flawed roster, and made moves designed less for basketball and more for cost-cutting. From lowballing coaches, to letting Caruso walk, to not giving Reaves, Christie and Horton-Tucker longer rookie deals, or always leaving an empty roster slot despite being ravaged with injuries, the Lakers kept making short-sighted decisions for small “savings” that only ended up costing them more in the long run.

At their best, this current Lakers core has still been pretty good, winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament, and looking like a contender in flashes. “Pretty good” isn’t going to cut it though, and the Lakers are reportedly going big game hunting yet again, for better or worse.

A (somewhat weird) coaching search is already underway, and with LeBron said to be opting out of his deal, he will likely use his free agency as leverage to force roster improvements as well.

D’Lo is perpetually in trade rumors, but he could also just opt out and control his destiny this offseason. That still leaves a lot of tradable contracts and three first round picks, and the Lakers are reportedly looking to get a third star like Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell.

I’d argue it’s better to package those picks for cheaper starters so they can upgrade and not trade away all their young players, but that’s not the Lakers’ style and they want the biggest name to lead the post-LeBron era (Technically, the Lauri Markkanen pipe dream ticks both boxes, but many teams can outbid them there).

We don’t know if the Lakers can get a blockbuster deal done, or if any of those stars are even really available, but expect them to be involved in just about every NBA rumor in the next several weeks.

Reload or Rebuild?

The Lakers will fall somewhere in the middle. They’re most likely going to reload with their two stars, but we can expect a new coach and a rebuilt supporting cast.