The Los Angeles Lakers have had a quiet NBA offseason thus far. Rob Pelinka has made a couple of outside moves, but the team has not had an aggressive approach thus far.
Part of the reason for that is due to their financial situation. LeBron James opted in to the final year of his contract with the team that will pay him just over $52.6 million. They will also need to get a major long-term deal done with Luka Doncic in the near future.
Pelinka and company are planning the future around Doncic. They do not want to make moves that will take them out of the running to bring in a future superstar to pair with Doncic.
While all of that makes sense, the Lakers do need to make moves if they want to compete for a championship this season. It seems likely that they will have one more year with Doncic and James playing together barring a trade or buyout with the 40-year-old superstar.
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Shaquille O’Neal recently spoke out about the team. He revealed one major concern that he has about Los Angeles and the way the roster currently stands.
During an exclusive interview with D.J. Siddiqi of Casinobeats.com, O’Neal opened up that he doesn’t think the Lakers have enough perimeter shooting.
“They have a legitimate big now, got two premier players,” O’Neal said. “I’m still worried about the shooting. It’s a three-point league now. Not guys that can shoot, (I’m talking about) bonafide shooters. Guys that are guaranteed, like JJ Reddick. He was a bonafide shooter. They got the point guard, got the off-guard, got a legitimate center. Their chances are much better now.”
He also opened up about his thoughts on what kind of season the team should be able to put together. O’Neal expects Los Angeles to have some kind of home-court advantage come playoff time, which would place them among the top four teams in the Western Conference.
“The Thunder are coming off the championship. They’re going to be high, they know what it takes to win the championship,” O’Neal said. “Denver, they’re going to be making some noise. It’s about you get eight spots to make the playoffs, they’re going to have to be between one through eight. I expect them to have some type of home court advantage.”
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It will be very interesting to see what the upcoming season has in store for the Lakers. Being led by Doncic and James will give them a fighting chance.
Making the additions of Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia are quality moves, but O’Neal would like to see more shooting. Perhaps Pelinka can make that happen before the season gets underway.
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