The Los Angeles Lakers have already put together one of the biggest pieces of their 2019 offseason puzzle by trading for Anthony Davis, pairing one of the NBA’s best bigs with LeBron James. It didn’t cost them scoring forward Kyle Kuzma to do so.
That might be a good enough trio to compete for a conference title in the West, but according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers might not be done yet in free agency.
He reports the Lakers are trying to open up a slot for another max contract by offering around Mo Wagner, Jemerrio Jones and Isaac Bonga — the only other three players under contract for next season. That could lead to the team then signing one of the big names on the market.
That would create quite a superteam … but how would the Lakers then fill out a bench? Here’s an answer:
This seems like a really bad idea, especially in the wake of what happened to the Golden State Warriors just weeks ago.
Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney all missed playoff games due to injury and fell short because they just didn’t have the depth to make up for those losses. The Toronto Raptors, on the other hand, had a balanced lineup and a deep bench that included Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet that helped them win a title.
Couple that with the fact that Davis has a history of injuries — he’s played over 70 games just twice seven years — and that LeBron James will be entering his 16th season and it’s worrisome that the Lakers could gamble on their health.
That could leave the roster looking kind of like this:
Ugh.
The better approach would be to use some of that cap space on some depth. After the slog of an 82-game season, making a run at a ring will require it. Just ask the Warriors.
