LA Lakers' offseason leaves Darvin Ham awestruck, as he envisions title run: "Sky is the limit"
The LA Lakers are off to a great start to their offseason as they secured several key players from last season's playoff run. For the past two seasons, the Lakers organization has struggled to find the pieces to help bring the team back to its former glory.
Fortunately, the team struck gold during the second half of the 2022-23 season and figured out what they really needed.
Coach Darvin Ham is now more confident in his team coming into the 2023-24 season. The LA Lakers coach thinks that his squad could be a championship-winning team next season.
Aside from keeping their key pieces from last season, the Lakers also acquired new players who can fill the roles they were lacking last year.
Ham said:
“Absolutely [I think we’re close to a championship team]. We have leadership like LeBron James and Anthony Davis; some of the talent we were able to bring back in Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell."
Ham continued:
“Then, you think about the guys we added in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes. I think the sky is the limit for what we will be able to do. I think we added a lot of depth, a lot of guys that have skill, size and athleticism, so I look forward to all of that coming together.”
Does the LA Lakers have what it takes to be a winning squad next season?
Last season, the LA Lakers came close to making another NBA Finals appearance. Unfortunately, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets were prepared for the purple and gold and easily annihilated LA.
While many criticized the Lakers for getting swept in the Western Conference finals, no one can deny how the team impressively came back from a 2-10 record at the start of the regular season.
With the way the Lakers' offseason has gone so far, things are now looking bright in LA.
Aside from last year's notable leaders and heroes remaining on the squad, the organization got things right this time around as they were able to secure formidable players like Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes.
Gabe Vincent comes into the squad with the championship experience he gained in the 2023 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat. Then there's Taurean Prince who's a solid role player and could provide meaningful leadership for the young guys in the locker room.
As for the younger players like Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish, they'll likely prove to be important assets for the team especially now that some of the guys in the Lakers squad are getting older.
Both Hayes and Reddish have huge potential and are explosive players in their own right. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis as their mentors, they'll only get better moving forward.