It’s a tough time to be a Lakers fan! Following the 2024 postseason disappointment, the team hasn’t made any significant moves in the offseason. Especially with LeBron James, inching closer to his retirement, is the LA Lakers front office doing justice to the 4x NBA Champion? Amid this unclear period in the Lakers fold, a media veteran slammed the front office and offered crucial advice two months ahead of the season opener.

Following the embarrassing first-round exit against the Denver Nuggets, King James upheld his reputation with an MVP-winning performance at the Paris Olympics. However, on the other end, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka didn’t bother to move the needle. Apart from hiring JJ Redick as head coach and the two draft picks, the team didn’t make any moves in the free agency.

Speaking of the Lakers’ current roster ahead of the upcoming season, Michael Pina, a veteran writer of Ringer said, “I don’t feel that the Los Angeles Lakers are a serious contender to make a deep playoff run and I think  the static nature of the front office and what they’ve done to the roster over the past couple years would reflect that.” Moreover, Pina proceeded to draw comparisons with LeBron James’ previous franchises.

Pina added, “They don’t they don’t feel a sense of urgency in the same way that other front offices have throughout LeBron’s career.” The Miami Heat certainly assembled a super team around the superstar and the Cleveland Cavaliers cleverly built a team surrounding King James to defeat the Golden State Warriors.

While LeBron James‘ fifth ring is on the line with only a few seasons left in his career, Pina dropped an important advice to Rob Pelinka. He added, “You would like to see just a little more aggression maybe. And there are avenues to be aggressive if you’re wanting to be aggressive.” 

Why didn’t the Lakers make any notable off-season moves?

Michael Pina suggested the Lakers’ front office an aggressive route to put themselves in the championship conversation. And by ‘avenues’, Pina addressed the usage of assets, the future picks in order to rope in role players. Notably, the team attempted to trade DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, and several others in the free agency market. However, it didn’t come out fruitful because several reports suggested the team didn’t go all out in their approach to stack their roster.

However, a recent update from Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor revealed that the Lakers have their “sight set” on Luka Doncic in the coming years. Reading between the lines, Trevor Lane, a Lakers Insider predicted that the team is apparently safeguarding their assets (future picks) in order to make the impossible possible.

Moreover, JJ Redick, in his introductory press meeting revealed that he is focused more on “player development” and not solely on championship. This leaves LeBron James to continue his attempt to win 5th ring without much support from the management. Do you think LeBron James and Anthony Davis bring home another ring for the Lakeshow? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.