NBA Finals 2020: Analyzing Lakers' and Heat's Free-Agency and Draft Needs

The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat will flip from competing for an NBA championship to preparing to build toward another title run.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Jimmy Butler will still be in place for the 2020-21 regular season, but the supporting casts around them could change. 

Both NBA Finals participants relied on veteran players to navigate through the NBA playoffs, but they may use the offseason to get younger with the next few playoff runs in focus. 

Miami is in a better position to improve through free agency and the draft since it has more wiggle room beneath the salary cap and is scheduled to select eight picks before the Lakers in the November 18 draft. 

Although the Lakers could face some challenges in building up their supporting cast, they still have two of the most talented players in the league on their side.

Los Angeles Lakers

The first thing the Lakers should have on their mind is securing Davis for the long term. 

Davis has a player option for the 2020-21 season and has the potential to become an unrestricted free agent in 2021. 

The possibility of the latter happening is small since he was brought to the franchise with the intention of winning multiple championships alongside James. 

Davis said that he was not sure of his status when asked about it after capturing his first championship, per ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk.

"I have no idea," Davis said. "I don't know. I had a great time in L.A. this first year. This has been nothing but joy, nothing but amazement. Over the next couple of months, we'll figure it out. I mean, I'm not 100 percent sure, but that's why my agent [Rich Paul] is who he is, and we'll discuss it and figure it out."

The reality is Davis should be a Lakers player for quite some time. Los Angeles did not mortgage the majority of its young players to acquire a rental. It brought in Davis for an extended reign at the top of the NBA. 

As the financials are figured out with Davis, the Lakers have to figure out how to build their roster around their two superstars. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo all have player options for next season. The problem with bringing back all four members of the supporting cast is each player is 27 years or older. 

The Lakers' best attempt to get younger could be through the draft since they likely will not have a ton of cash to spend in free agency because of the current deals on their payroll. 

The NBA champion could find some value with the 28th-overall pick through a few experienced college players, like TCU shooting guard Desmond Bane or Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston. 

Since the Lakers do not have much time to bring along project players in this championship window, they could lean to college upperclassmen to provide a jolt off the bench right away.

In 2017, the Lakers brought in Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart through draft-day trades. Kuzma was the No. 27 pick, and Hart was chosen 30th. 

If the Lakers find the same success in November, it could alleviate the pressure of building depth by either re-signing players or adding free agents.

Miami Heat

Miami is not as hamstrung by the salary cap as the Lakers since Butler is the only player on the roster scheduled to make over $30 million. James and Davis are set to make a combined $68 million on their current deals for next season.

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are on their rookie contracts, and cap space is currently freed up with Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder hitting free agency.

Miami could opt to bring back the bulk of its roster, but Dragic and Crowder are in their 30s and the Heat may choose to get younger. 

If the Heat let them walk, they would need to address depth in the backcourt and on the wing. The No. 20 overall pick could help the Heat rebuild at one position. 

With their last three first-round picks, the Heat landed Justise Winslow, Adebayo and Herro. Winslow was used as part of the trade to bring in Andre Iguodala from Memphis in February. 

If the Heat benefit from their strong scouting prowess to land a solid prospect with the 20th overall pick, they may not have to dip into free agency to fill all of their needs.

The best direction for that pick could be at point guard since Kira Lewis Jr., Nico Mannion, Tre Jones and potentially Cole Anthony could be available at that juncture of the selection process. 

If Miami unearths another draft gem and gets younger through free agency, it could have another strong roster to build around Butler.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Contract information obtained from Spotrac.