Windhorst: Lakers Fans' Dreams of Signing Star Player Aren't Going to Happen
ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst shot down the possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers making a splashy signing during the offseason.
During an appearance on The Jump Friday, Windhorst said: "The Lakers fans' dream of signing a big-time player this summer, that's not gonna happen."
After winning the championship in 2020, L.A. made an early exit in the playoffs this season, as it fell to the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
The Lakers were sent packing Thursday when the Suns prevailed 113-100 in a Game 6 in which Anthony Davis was hobbled by a groin injury and limited to just five minutes.
The Jump tweeted a look at the Lakers' roster situation entering the offseason as well:
Notably, the Lakers have over $100 million tied up in Davis, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, which doesn't leave them with much flexibility in terms of adding high-impact players to their roster.
Despite the fact that L.A. won a title last season, it overhauled the supporting cast around James and Davis quite a bit by acquiring Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol. It also signed center Andre Drummond after he was bought out by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The pieces didn't mesh as well as hoped, however, and the fact that the Lakers were only able to nab the No. 7 seed because of long-term injuries suffered by James and Davis contributed to their early exit.
It is possible that many of the Lakers' big additions before and during this season could be gone by the time next season rolls around.
Schroder and Drummond are unrestricted free agents, while Harrell has a player option for 2021-22.
Additionally, Alex Caruso, Wesley Matthews, Markieff Morris and Ben McLemore are some of the role players set to hit free agency.
Given their lack of salary cap space, any improvements made by the Lakers may have to be done via trade or through the use of their exceptions in free agency.
The Lakers also own the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, and there is hope for 2020 second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker to develop into an even bigger contributor next season after averaging a solid 9.0 points, 2.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game during his second NBA season in 2020-21.
That was the case in 2019-20, and even with a supporting cast that was suspect in many respects, the Lakers won it all thanks to the play of LeBron and AD.
