Members within LA Lakers' FO believe in Dr. Jerry Buss' philosophy on trading picks, show faith in WCF status: Report
The LA Lakers have been quiet this offseason, retaining majority of their core from the 2023 Western Conference finals run. Rookies Dalton Knecht and LeBron James' son Bronny James are their only new additions this summer. Knecht will likely receive time with the main roster, while Bronny is expected to follow a developmental program in the G League.
The same core couldn't go beyond the first round this past year. However, the front office continues showing faith in the team's Western Conference finals prospects. According to Lakers' insider Dave McMenamin, some people in the organization still believe in Dr. Jerry Buss' philosophy, keeping in mind the WCF contender status.
"The patriarch of the Lakers franchise - late Dr. Buss - had the philosophy if he viewed the Lakers as being a WCF finalist contender, then he would go into the subsequent season willing to push draft capital and take on salary to get them a little bit of an edge," McMenamin reported on Wednesday's 'NBA Today Show.'
"There’s still people within the organization that view business that same way […] the Lakers management knows with the right tweaking they can get them back to that level this year."
You may click on this video to listen to McMenamin's report (from 0:48):
Some believe the Lakers could've made another conference finals run had they not run into the Denver Nuggets in the first round. The then-reigning champions caused the most matchup problems for LA over the last two years.
The lineup that played after 50 games, with Rui Hachimura replacing Taurean Prince, also registered an impressive 22-10 run to close the season, giving the LA Lakers a chance to win the seventh-seed in the play-in tournament, which they ultimately did. They frequently used that lineup during their WCF run a year ago.
LA Lakers might just have enough to survive until trade deadline
The LA Lakers' 22-10 run after the Rui Hachimura insertion in the starting lineup has been overshadowed amid their quiet offseason because of their dismal 4-1 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
The Lakers roster is not perceived as a championship-winning team, despite LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the charge alongside some quality role players. The Lakers can be better, but they might have enough to boast a healthy record until the trade deadline.
The upcoming season will see the likes of Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Christian Wood return to the team 100% healthy, which wasn't the case last year. New coach JJ Redick, although inexperienced, seemingly has the Xs and Os figured to make this roster work to its best potential.
The LA Lakers under Darvin Ham last year largely struggled with his stubbornness to run a lineup that had a decent sample size to prove it wasn't the best combination. LA already has the blueprint from the post-trade-deadline era, so the hopes for a good start remain alive.