Los Angeles Lakers: Breaking down the perfect offseason

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers, in their current form, are an absolute mess. The organization has weathered more drama in the last month and a half than any franchise should in a lifetime.

First, President of Basketball Operations and franchise legend Magic Johnson abruptly resigned in an impromptu press conference without alerting ownership first. Then, of course, the Lakers fired head coach Luke Walton. Somehow, while trying to replace Walton, the franchise then alienated Ty Lue so egregiously in the hiring process that the former Cleveland Cavalier coach — who is unemployed — withdrew his own name from consideration.

Never mind that. The Lakers found themselves a head coach in Frank Vogel. But things still got worse.

LeBron James, the unquestioned face of the franchise, remained quietly concerned that Los Angeles’ soap opera season would deter free agents. Oh, and instead of replacing Magic Johnson, the Lakers have decided to move forward into free agency without a president of basketball operations. General Manager Rob, who has apparently been spending his time making up bizarre Kobe Bryan stories, is now calling the shots.

So what will the roster look like this fall? We’re not really here to talk about L.A.’s favorite dysfunctional front office. Instead, we want to talk about players. It’s fair to wonder if the Lakers have any idea what their roster is going to look like this fall. Intuition says they do not. But we’re going to give it our best shot.

Who’s staying and who’s going? After limping to a  37-45 record last season, the 10th-place Lakers are bound to make some changes. Magic Johnson’s ill-fated, stopgap roster design — one that didn’t fit well with LeBron’s playstyle — was mostly thrown together on one-year deals. Some guys just didn’t fit, though some played well enough to be worth resigning.

About that fourth overall pick: The Lakers did better than they probably should have in the NBA Draft lottery when they secured a No. 4 pick. But in modern-day Lakers fashion, they did so when the most obvious, transcendental talents will be off the board after the first three picks — Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and RJ Barrett are expected to go early. Still, the Lakers have options.

The big names: The Lakers have reported ties to some of the most sought-after free agents heading into this offseason and the franchise has been linked to trade rumors that — shockingly — don’t involve Anthony Davis. In any case, this offseason will be make-or-break for Los Angeles as it tries to win now with three more guaranteed seasons of LeBron.

Second-tier targets to build with: Even if, in a dream scenario, the Lakers manage to trade for Anthony Davis and sign a Kyrie Irving-caliber player, they’re going to have to fill in some remaining holes in the roster. Not every guy they sign can be a bona fide All-NBA talent. They’re going to have to make some additional savvy signings if they want to catch the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets atop the Western Conference standings.

Final thoughts, opening night: The Los Angeles Lakers’ front office has been nothing short of a dumpster fire the last month and a half, but it doesn’t have to be this offseason. It probably will, but it doesn’t have to be.

An ideal opening night lineup might look something like this:

They’re the Lakers. With a free agency market as deep as this one and a number of stars available via trade, they should have no problem putting a winner on the floor next season. Then again, they shouldn’t have had an issue doing so this season, either. Maybe they’ll be a top seed in the West next year.

Or, maybe they’ll continue to drop the ball this offseason. Maybe they have a 50/50 shot at either one of those outcomes, because, well, they’re the Lakers. And that doesn’t mean what it used to.

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