A roster with LeBron James and Luka Doncic is a great place to start.
But it’s obvious from the first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference playoffs that the Los Angeles Lakers need improvements.
It was a disappointing exit. When the Lakers traded Anthony Davis to Dallas for Doncic just before the trade deadline, they began winning more games and moved higher in the standings, finishing with the No. 3 seed. Granted, the Timberwolves are not your lame-duck No. 6 seed – they went to the conference finals last season and won 48 games this season. They’re strong with Anthony Edwards leading the way.
Still, the Lakers had higher expectations than a first-round loss – a five-game series in which they were not good enough offensively or defensively.
“We feel we can win at a high level with the group we have,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before Game 5.
But, he also added, “Playoffs go back to matchups and how one team can exploit your weaknesses, how they can take away your strengths and vice versa. Any team that we play is going to be a challenge, and Minnesota has been more than a formidable challenge. They’re a really good basketball team.”
Five games is a small sample size, but among the 16 playoff teams, the Los Angeles Lakers were the second-worst defensive team, No. 10 in assists, No. 11 in defensive rebounding, No. 12 in field goal percentage, No. 12 in turnovers, No. 13 in rebounding, No. 14 in points allowed in the paint, No. 15 in fastbreak points allowed, No. 15 in bench points, last in second-chance points allowed and last in field goals made per game.
The Lakers lacked depth and offensive and defensive versatility.
In a Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Redick, the first-year coach who did a fine job guiding the team to 50 victories in the regular season, played just five players (LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith) in the second half. It was small-ball, exposing the Lakers’ lack of rim protection and revealing their inability to go big. That rescinded trade for Charlotte center Mark Williams at the trade deadline left the Lakers with a glaring hole in the middle.
The Lakers’ problems protecting the paint were never more apparent than in Game 5. Rudy Gobert torched the Lakers, scoring 27 points, grabbing 24 rebounds and blocking two shots in the Timberwolves’ 103-96 series-deciding victory.
The Lakers had success in single-game situations during the regular season but when the Timberwolves had time to game plan for a seven-game series, they limited the Lakers.
In a deep and loaded Western Conference that contains several championship-caliber teams, the Lakers aren’t good enough, and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has considerable work to do if the Lakers are going to capitalize on a James-Doncic pairing while preparing for a future without James.
James is under contract for next season but has a player option to become a free agent. Operating under the idea that he is coming back for another season, it’s likely James becomes a free agent and signs another two-year deal with the Lakers giving him another player option after next season.
Doncic, Hachimura, Reaves, Maxi Kleber, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James are under contract for next season.
Finney-Smith has a player option for $15.3 million or he can become a free agent in the summer, and Jaxson Hayes, Markieff Morris and Alex Len are free agents after this season.
The Lakers do not have a first-round draft pick in 2025, but they do have first-round picks in 2026 and 2028.
Depending on what happens with restricted free agents and Finney-Smith, the Lakers could have some money to spend in free agency, and Pelinka will explore the trade market. The Lakers will also be protective of cap space for the summer of 2026 when they could have room to sign another all-star-caliber player.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
(This story has been updated to add new video).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James, Luka Doncic not enough; Lakers need offseason work.
