Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers must do more. What they have is pretty good. What they need is great.
The Lakers offseason has been promising. They got a starting center with Deandre Ayton. They shored up the depth by adding Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart to the mix too. They still lack the finishing touches on undeniably establishing this group as a bona fide contender.
Kevin O'Connor came to a similar conclusion when assessing the Lakers roster on a recent episode of his podcast for Yahoo! Sports. When looking at the projected rotation with his guest, Legend of Winning, the NBA analyst was forthright with his stance.
"This is a team, especially in the loaded Western Conference, it's hard to feel like this is a championship contender," O'Connor said.
Key holes will crush Lakers' playoff hopes without a midseason upgrade
The biggest offseason change that O'Connor could point to as a glimmer of hope was the revamped version of Luka Doncic. No matter how one were to dissect it, a team with one of the best players on the planet will always have hope in what they can accomplish. That should be especially true given how elite Doncic has looked at EuroBasket 2025.
Banking on Doncic being a one-man army would be foolish. In all fairness, too, the Lakers have some pretty strong support in the likes of LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Those two being the second and third options is certainly nothing to scoff at.
However, the formula in Los Angeles just needs that extra bit of fine-tuning to really feel great about how they stack up with the Western Conference powerhouses above them. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and Houston Rockets could all be viewed as a tier above the Lakers.
So what would get Los Angeles on par with those tremendous teams? Apart from some natural luck with a handful of their swings factors, a few spots stick out as obvious needs.
Unless Smart is going to turn back the clock and force his way into the starting lineup with his dominant defense, the Lakers could use a player who is a capable perimeter defender for that top unit. An upgrade at the backup center spot would not hurt either.
Ultimately, the Lakers need to upgrade the main players who will represent them in the postseason. When the rotations shrink and teams are not as liberal with how they deploy their bench, the Lakers need to solidify the prominent group that will be tasked with the championship push.