Is it time for the Los Angeles Lakers to push their chips all-in? JJ Redick got his team off to an 11-4 start with one of their star players only accounting for a 1-0 record. The problem for Rob Pelinka has to do with that last part.
The Lakers do not truly have a proper idea of what this team will look like with LeBron James back in the mix. That is not to imply James makes the team worse to any capacity, but there will be an obvious adjustment period to reintegrating their star and figuring out what that means on the whole.
There is just no clear consensus of what the Lakers true weak points are when James is available. Los Angeles was pretty much at full health for only the first time in their win over the Utah Jazz. They need to see more of that before big decisions can be made.
"There's just a lot of data right now that we just don't have," a team source told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Lakers need insight before picking their moment to strike on trade market
The nine-man rotation that Redick rolled out against the Jazz featured James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent, and Jaxson Hayes. What are the shortcomings of that group?
One could probably estimate a few things based on the names involved. They could still benefit from a two-way wing that was rumored to be sought after in the offseason. More shooting would be welcome too. A more productive backup point guard that can put pressure on defenses would not hurt either. Perhaps an upgrade from Hayes can be explored as well.
The fact of the matter is all of those points remain the best guesses. They are not based off a string of results that provide a real sample size for the weaknesses of the rotation.
There may be some sense of urgency and curiosity from onlookers, given the NBA calendar is approaching the unofficial start to trade season on Dec. 15. However, for the Lakers, they may want to kick this can down the road a little closer to the trade deadline.
Some needs may emerge much quicker than others, making themselves obvious from the jump. Others could take until late January to really show themselves.
Opportunities will be there. Plenty of trade rumors are already beginning to formulate. For the Lakers, they are just not ready for a major judgement call.