Los Angeles Lakers: 5 realistic goals for 2018 offseason
By Dan Lovi
With the NBA Draft and NBA Free Agency still a couple months away, here are five realistic goals for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers will have to wait patiently for the outcome of the 2018 NBA Playoffs before the team can reboot for the 2018-19 season. While it’s unclear where LeBron James or DeMarcus Cousins will be playing next season, there are few certainties the Lakers can count on.
When the Lakers swapped Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. for Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye, they also acquired the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 2018 first round draft pick. Though it is a late-round pick, the Lakers have found recent success with late-round picks like Kyle Kuzma (No. 27) and Josh Hart (No. 30).
The Lakers also have several free agents of their own that general manager Rob Pelinka and president of basketball operations Magic Johnson will have to make decisions about. Brook Lopez, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Thomas and Frye are all unrestricted free agents, while Julius Randle will be a restricted free agent.
While Pelinka and Johnson will have to wait for the season to conclude before beginning their offseason plans, there are few items on the agenda they can start to prepare for. Here are five realistic goals for the Lakers’ 2018 offseason.