Latest Lakers Rumors Surrounding Los Angeles' Offseason Plans

Given the problems presented by the injury bug of late, there was a very real chance the Los Angeles Lakers would be in full NBA offseason mode right now.

Instead, they're preparing for a second-round collision with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

The front office, though, is surely looking ahead at this summer and plotting moves to help strengthen this roster around Luka Dončić. Some of those strategies are already coming to light, so let's dive into the latest discussions about the Purple and Gold's plans.

Luke Kennard Sticking Around?

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When the Lakers turned Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick into Kennard at the trade deadline, it felt like the appropriate response was a shoulder shrug. Turns out, L.A. made a brilliant move for a sharpshooter who helped extend its season.

Kennard played a central part in the Lakers building a 3-0 advantage on the Houston Rockets despite missing both Dončić and Austin Reaves. Kennard totaled 64 points in those contests, shooting 55.3 percent overall and 52.9 percent from three.

The Lakers must've liked what they saw. As NBA insider Jake Fischer reported at The Stein Line, it is "increasingly anticipated leaguewide" that L.A. will try to re-sign Kennard this summer.

His skill set is pretty one-note—he can handle a bit, but he's mostly a shooting specialist—but that's rather easy to forgive when he is elite in his craft. L.A. will need maximum spacing around its stars, and he's one of the best options to provide it, having just led the league in three-point percentage for the third time in the last five seasons.

L.A. Will Push for Denver Defender?

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As long as the Lakers are building around their perimeter stars, they'll want to fill their supporting cast with as many stoppers as possible. In fact, they even have a specific shape-shifting defender in mind: fourth-year Denver Nuggets swingman Peyton Watson.

The restricted free agent is expected to "draw interest from the Bulls, Lakers and Nets this offseason," Jake Fischer reported at The Stein Line. Fischer added that the Nuggets have made re-signing Watson their "top priority."

Watson, who hails from Long Beach and spent his lone season of college ball at UCLA, just positioned himself for a big payday. His defense had been stifling for a while now, but his offense really came alive during this campaign, as he posted a number of personal-bests, including 14.6 points per game and a 59.4 true shooting percentage, per Basketball-Reference.com.

He is a toolsy, 23-year-old three-and-D forward who is already contributing to big-stage success and should continue to get better. His free agency figures to be awfully expensive—perhaps more than the top-heavy Nuggets can afford. That doesn't mean the shutdown defender is definitely coming to L.A., but the Lakers can and should push hard to try to make that happen.

Lakers Linked To NBA Champ?

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The Nuggets could be looking at an eventful offseason after flaming out of the first round. It'll be a no-stone-unturned kind of summer in Denver with the team trying to manage rising costs and dwindling assets in hopes of keeping a championship window open with Nikola Jokić.

Invaluable glue guy Aaron Gordon, for instance, "will no longer be considered off the table as a trade candidate," per Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. Sacrificing Gordon would be an extreme measure, obviously, and something the club would only consider "if they were to retain key draft capital lost in previous trades, as well as another impactful starter," per ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel.

That said, setting a high price still leaves the door ajar for a possible deal, and the Lakers were among the teams Siegel cited as "win-now teams Gordon would obviously fit in with as realistic trade suitors." L.A. clearly needs versatile stoppers, and Gordon is equally comfortable banging with bigs near the basket and chasing wings around the perimeter.

This doesn't feel like the likeliest scenario, since the Nuggets' presumed asking price probably resides in the same neighborhood as Lakers' richest possible offer. Still, it's worth discussing, because Gordon would be a great fit as a proven winner, a versatile defender and a do-a-little-of-everything dot-connector on the offensive end.