After a flurry of offseason moves, the Los Angeles Lakers may be done making deals. However, they were just dealt a major blow from none other than Denver Nugget star Nikola Jokic.
After Jokic declined to sign a contract extension with the Nuggets this summer, many speculated whether he'd be willing to leave in free agency next year. Unfortunately for the Lakers, he put an end to speculation (subscription required) recently by stating he plans to wait till next summer before signing an extension with Denver.
Doing so has big ramifications for Denver, who can offer him a 5-year max next summer, making it highly unlikely that he leaves for Los Angeles. With that pipe dream seemingly over, it appears the Lakers will have to continue to build the old-fashioned way.
Lakers received a Nikola Jokic update they have been dreading
With Jokic seemingly off the Lakers' vision board, attention now returns back to their current roster. Their offseason moves haven't been well received by many, with them having a confusing mix of offensive players and really only one defensive-minded player.
It's hard to see the Lakers' vision when they have Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Quintin Grimes, Sandro Mamukaleshvili, and Walker Kessler as their starting five. Offense won't be an issue, but defense will be a massive problem.
Worse yet, they have only three tradeable picks and probably aren't going to find any help on the trade market. Jokic was a nice dream for the Lakers to have. Nevertheless, the reality is that they didn't do the greatest job in the world of building around Doncic this summer.
The Lakers' current roster doesn't make sense as constructed
The Lakers had a golden opportunity to revamp their roster. Thus far, the results have been middling at best.
They did upgrade at center, swapping out Deandre Ayton for Walker Kessler, but it cost them two firsts and two seconds. They will also have to pay him at least $32.5 million annually over the next four seasons.
That's top-10 center money, and Kessler isn't top-10. Granted, he is an elite rim protector and rebounder, but that is a steep price to pay.
The Lakers could have probably cobbled together a more than serviceable center rotation for $10 million less a season. With Donic, Reaves, and Walker seemingly their core going forward, it's hard to see them as much more than a top-6 team in the West.
That is better than most but worse than what is expected from the Lake Show. However, that may be the reality of the situation if Jokic really intends on staying with the Nuggets.
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