The Los Angeles Lakers are close to getting back their star trio of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James in what could be the next few days. James, who has yet to play for the Lakers this season, is listed as questionable for the team’s upcoming game against the Utah Jazz, but his return doesn’t guarantee success in Los Angeles.
While they have the star power, the Lakers were recently urged to be aggressive in the trade market, specifically once James gets back on the court. Despite the high-level offensive firepower, they lag in many team statistics, and were advised to add off-ball shooting to what is already a ball-dominant group of stars.
Writing for Bleacher Report, Zach Buckley believes the Lakers will be active in finding role players who fit well with Doncic, Reaves, and James, to turn what is a team with a solid record right now, into one that can actually win multiple playoff rounds.
“Because with Dončić on top of his game, Reaves playing better than ever and a healthy James hopefully rejoining the group soon, this team might be realistically just one or two trades away from being a heavyweight title contender,” he wrote on the team.
The Lakers rank in the bottom half of the NBA in net and offensive rating, while also being last in made threes and 24th in shooting percentage from deep, fueling the comments on the team needing more outside shooting.
‘Aggressive’ Lakers Trade Rumors
On paper, James’ return to the Lakers is a good sign. While questions still stand about how he will share offensive responsibility with the already dominant Doncic and Reaves this season, the expectation is that he will only help their 10-4 start to the year.
However, that isn’t a guarantee, and though in the past the league’s all-time leading scorer has proven to be an offensive Swiss Army knife, it might not be enough for the Lakers to get over the hump. That’s why Buckley advised the Lakers to use what assets they have to make this roster even stronger.
“It’s also something this front office should be able to tackle on the trade market, especially if these [shooting] struggles persist,” Buckley wrote. “It might force L.A. to be less tight-gripped on some of its more valuable trade chips, but that’s a price worth paying for anyone who (reasonably) believes that James, Dončić and Reaves can comprise a contending-level core.”
The core of the three stars matches up well with any other top trio in the league, but it doesn’t mean the Lakers are a shoo-in for any type of postseason success, as seen last year. The role players of Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and Marcus Smart have been solid, specifically on defense, but the shooting woes are impossible to ignore, and will continue to be when James comes back.
“It falls on the front office, then, to fill those voids. And in a perfect world, it will have no hesitation about making that happen,” Buckley added. “Assuming things don’t go sideways in the next month—most free agents signed this offseason won’t become trade-eligible until Dec. 15—the Lakers should plan on being busy and aggressive on the trade market.”
LeBron James Injury Update
General manager Rob Pelinka has proven to be bold, even brazen, in the trade market, but until the front office finds out how James fits in with the team, and the potential shooters that will be available, it is hard to see any type of move happening in the next few weeks.
While that appears to be an issue a bit down the road, the Lakers do look one step closer to getting their 21-time All-Star back on the court. James went through his first practice with the team on Monday, and after multiple updates from both he and Redick, the star is listed as questionable for their upcoming game against the Jazz.
Los Angeles has taken a patient approach with James’ recovery, and though he claimed the months-long battle with sciatica was difficult, he expects to make his debut soon.
“We’ve been taking it literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process,” James said on Monday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “So, see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up in the morning, we’ll probably have shootaround. So, just got to see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus.”
According to senior insider Shams Charania, James is ‘motivated and eager’ to get back on the court after missing the Lakers’ training camp, preseason, and first 14 games of the year. The expectation is that he will only elevate the team, but as seen with Buckley’s perspective, a potential return doesn’t mean this is the same roster that they will enter the playoffs with.
Though Los Angeles was previously rumored to be looking for a new big man, their new focus appears to be hunting for more shooting.
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