LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said Thursday the franchise is preparing for a busy summer as the club looks to rebuild its roster after a bitterly disappointing first round exit in the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs.
The Lakers bowed out of the postseason in front of their home fans on Wednesday, losing 103-96 as the Minnesota Timberwolves wrapped up an emphatic 4-1 series victory.
The manner of the series defeat — the second year running the Lakers have exited in the first round — highlighted the flaws in a squad which had arguably flattered to deceive by finishing third in the Western Conference behind the offensive potency of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
The arrival in Doncic in February in a jaw-dropping trade from Dallas breathed new life into the Lakers’ regular season campaign.
But the departure of Anthony Davis in the same deal left the Lakers desperately short of physical heft at both ends of the court, a weakness that was ruthlessly exposed by the Timberwolves and their giant French center Rudy Gobert.
Pelinka said Thursday the Lakers had been forced to improvise their roster construction after Doncic’s arrival, but now planned to spend the offseason taking a more considered approach to the rebuild — with the acquisition of a big man the top priority.
“When you make a seismic trade at the deadline, it’s kind of like trying to build an airplane in the sky,” Pelinka told reporters.
“Now we have a chance to land the plane, put it in the hangar and really try and figure out what we need to retrofit and change, and that’s what we’ll do.”
“It’s very clear that this team and this roster needs more size and needs a center position. That’s a very clear and obvious byproduct of trading potentially the best big in the league to Dallas to get a point guard.