Post-Mortem: 2022-23 Los Angeles Lakers

[ElectricMayhem]

House rule: Joker beats King.

Here is the data from previous years' Post-Mortems:
2020-21:

Spoiler:

Post-Mortem Results I: GM Confidence Meter
Post-Mortem Results II: Coaching Confidence Meter
Post-Mortem Results III: Performance Compared to Expectations
Post-Mortem Results IV: Rising/Treadmill/Waning

2021-22:
2021-22 Post Mortem Final Summary

Team Name: Los Angeles Lakers
Record at Time of Death: 43-39 (.524) (WCF Round Loss)
Head of Front Office: Rob Pelinka (2017-)
Coach: Darvin Ham (2022-)

Offensive Rating: 19th
Defensive Rating: 12th
Rebound %: 10th
Turnover %: 11th

Front Office: Change or keep?
Coach: Change or keep?
Relative to expectations, how did they fare this year?
Rising, falling, or treadmill?
If you were in charge, what would you do this offseason?

Notes:
Players under contract next year:
LeBron James ($53m)
Anthony Davis ($41m)
Mo Bamba ($10m) (Partially Guaranteed)
Jarred Vanderbilt ($5m) (Partially Guaranteed)
Max Christie ($2m)

Team Options:
Malik Beasley ($17m)

Player Options:


Free Agents:
Austin Reaves
Rui Hachimura
Dennis Schroder
D’Angelo Russell
Lonnie Walker IV
Wenyen Gabriel
Troy Brown Jr.
Shaquille Harrison
Scotty Pippen Jr.
Cole Swider
Tristan Thompson

Dead Money:

Previous Post-Mortems:
30. Houston Rockets
29. San Antonio Spurs
28. Detroit Pistons
27. Charlotte Hornets
26. Portland Trail Blazers
25. Indiana Pacers
24. Washington Wizards
23. Orlando Magic
22. Utah Jazz
21. Dallas Mavericks
20. Toronto Raptors
19. New Orleans Pelicans
18. Chicago Bulls
17. Oklahoma City Thunder
16. Brooklyn Nets
15. Minnesota Timberwolves
14. Los Angeles Clippers
13. Cleveland Cavaliers
12. Milwaukee Bucks
11. Atlanta Hawks
10. Memphis Grizzlies
9. Sacramento Kings
8. Phoenix Suns
7. New York Knicks
6. Golden State Warriors
5. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Los Angeles Lakers

[Dr Aki]

Miracle trade to pretty good post season run.

Just ran up against a bigger, more athletic, more skilled, more cohesive team.

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

I think Los Angeles is fine but they could take a step back if they can't afford Reeves and/or Hachimura

[The Laker Kid]

No more kardashian on the roster please

Lakers had no bidness being here. They were a play in team. They’re not equipped to deal with MPJ, let alone Brown. Tear down, rebuild and start again. Hopefully they go further next year after some tweaks to the roster.

[sikma42]

Nothing to be ashamed of here. Didn’t have the personnel for this matchup. Lebron was hurt.

Looks like this is Denver’s year.


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[CraftylikeaFox]

Lakers will be clowned for getting swept, but they ended up having a really good season. Regular season free throw discrepancy aside, going from out of the play in with 27 wins and Russell Westbrook right before the all star break to no Westbrook and the WCF's by seasons end is a pretty good outcome.

[Harry Garris]

No one wants to end the season on a sweep but the Lakers ended up having a much more successful season than I thought they would. Especially given what the team looked like pre-trade deadline.

[baller16]

Add some shooting and there back in it. But if they add Kyrie, they're probably championship favourites.

[PistolPeteJR]

Lakers need to keep Rui and Reaves, use DLo in a S&T for a better decision-maker, and they need a big body on their bench.

And no, Kyrie ain’t happening.

That said, I think the question is, “What team could decide they want to move for DLo?”

[Slink]

Spent most of the season out of the play-in to make the conference finals, with a team thrown together at the deadline, took out the defending champs with an over the hill LeBron and rookie coach.

That being said, they need a better offensive system, this offense was too average.

[Ni Da Ye]

Lakers need to do anything to keep Dlo.

[AIfan3]

Add some shooting and there back in it. But if they add Kyrie, they're probably championship favourites.

Not with LeBron on the roster. Maybe after he retires, they can do a slight retool around AD. It is the Lakers, they always end up getting a superstar or two to sign on.

Maybe they get a disgruntled star like Doncic?

[Teen Girl Squad]

Miracle trade to pretty good post season run.

Just ran up against a bigger, more athletic, more skilled, more cohesive team.

Agreed. Resign Reeves. Resign Rui if he doesn't get ridiculous money. Let DLo walk. A year to gel together, and hope LeBron has one more season in him/is healthy during the playoffs (as healthy as a 39 year old with his mileage can be). A much better season than expected.

[Marrrcuss]

Great series and great play from the Nuggets. No excuses nor ref talk. Cannot be like the people that disgust me.

[ElectricMayhem]

The front office gets credit for creating something out of nothing before the trade deadline. It's like the league banded together to get LeBron the support he deserved. The biggest issue will of course be bringing back the crew. They have another year of Vanderbilt on the cheap but they may have to make some tough choices. Reaves has to be a priority. Hachimura is probably necessary for another run too. Then Schroder plays a role they need as well and while Russell didn't have the greatest series, his shooting helped get them here. It'll be up to the free agents to decide if they want to get the band back together or not.

[Vae Victus]

Lakers offseason is gonna be interesting. It all comes down to whether Jeannie is willing to pay big bucks in luxury penalties to keep this team intact.

No brainer moves
Re-Sign Reaves, Rui, Shroeder (to TMLE), and decline Beasley's team option

Head scratchers
Keep Bamba at 10.3mil, cant get anyone else since TMLE is used on Shroeder
Re-sign DLo to significant money, no choice since cant replace his salary slot if he walks

Roll the dice crazy idea
S&T DLo + salary filler + #17 for S&T Kyrie

It's clear that Lebron aint got it anymore, Father time is undefeated, and the Lakers DESPERATELY need someone who can get buckets on their own. I wonder if Lebron will force Pelinka's hand and order a trade for Kyrie.

[Marvin Martian]

I know Bron is hungry and wants to win, but he needs to put his ego aside, focus on the future, and tank for his son. He has nothing left to prove.

Trade AD. He is not reliable. You cannot win with him as your number one option.

[Ascrilas]

Keep Reeves, keep Rui, let DLo go to China. Retool and try again, that's literally it. An impressive recovery by the Lakers, no shame in losing against a superior team.

[Johnny Tomala]

Keep, keep, better, waning.

[HiDef]

Hate to say it but Kyrie could be the guy. Denver really clamped down, but there were a lot of spots where LA couldn't take advantage of what they were getting.