The Los Angeles Lakers have scoured the market and come up empty so far this summer. Their only major additions to the roster have come through rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, with only Knecht being capable of contributing as a rotational player. Outside of that, the Lakers are running it back with all their players from last season’s first-round exit coming back.
The Lakers couldn’t land a long list of players headlined by Klay Thompson and Buddy Hield, with other Lakers players like D’Angelo Russell reportedly having minimal trade value. Teams in the West like the Warriors are trying to acquire Utah Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen. To avoid getting jumped by another rival, the Lakers might need to overpay to blow the Jazz away and create their own big three in Los Angeles.
