It's been a busy offseason so far for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they constantly look for ways to shore up their roster after coming up short in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The Lakers pulled off back0-to-back series upsets by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors in the first and second rounds, respectively, but ran into a brick wall in the form of Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
It's that embarrassing sweep at the hands of the eventual NBA champions which has become a major driving factor behind the Lakers' mission to address weaknesses of the team in the offseason.
“Denver's size I think was something that really was apparent to us that we wanted to upgrade our wing depth,” Pelinka shared, via Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports.
Although it was point guard Jamal Murray who led the Nuggets in scoring during the series win against Los Angeles, Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon brought serious headaches to the Lakers because of their size, length, and versatility. Jokic averaged 27.8 points on 50.6 percent shooting from the field. He was a big problem — literally and figuratively — for the Lakers, while Porter and Gordon each provided great assistance to Jokic and Murray: Porter for his outside shooting and Gordon for his ability to defend multiple positions and shoot at a high percentage from the field.
The Lakers have already re-signed the likes of Rui Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves, but have also picked up the Taurean Prince, Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes. There could be more coming to the Lakers' fold, with the 2023-24 NBA season still months away.
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