The Los Angeles Lakers have had a solid NBA offseason thus far. Rob Pelinka has added some quality outside talent, while also being able to work out a new three-year, $165 million extension with Luka Doncic that includes a player option.
Among the moves to bring in new talent, the Lakers added Jake LaRavia, Deandre Ayton, and Marcus Smart. Will that be enough to contend in the Western Conference?
It's possible that Los Angeles could look to make more moves before the end of the offseason. One possible area to target for improvement is perimeter shooting.
Adding more shooting around Doncic and LeBron James would be a wise decision. With two superstars leading the way, spacing the floor will be crucial.
To that end, ESPN has suggested a couple of potential names the Lakers could target.
"The Lakers probably could acquire players such as Grayson Allen (10th) and Sam Hauser (12th) in trades without too much fuss if they wanted," the article read.
Both of those players would be quality depth additions for Los Angeles. Neither would cost an arm and a leg to acquire should their respective teams be open to the idea of trading them.
Hauser is coming off of a 2024-25 NBA season with the Boston Celtics that saw him play in 71 games and make 19 starts. He averaged 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game, while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and a sizzling 41.6 percent from three-point range.
Allen, on the other hand, played last season with the Phoenix Suns. He appeared in 64 games and made seven starts, while averaging 10.6 points per game to go along with three rebounds and 2.1 assists. In addition, he made 44.8 percent of his overall shots and 42.6 percent of his three-point attempts.
While there is no guarantee that the Lakers would have any interest in those two players, they're worth keeping an eye on.
Either of them would improve the team's all-around offense. They could come in off the bench and focus on spot-up three-point shooting.
Pelinka has made a few moves that should make Los Angeles a better team. However, in order to have a chance at winning a championship, the Lakers might need to do a little bit more.
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