Every offseason, the Lakers were reportedly chasing a wide array of big names, and every offseason, they fell short. This familiar script seems to be repeating itself this summer.
The Lakers have been linked to everyone from Trae Young, to Donovan Mitchell, to Klay Thompson.
But according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are against it when it comes to moves.
“It's a very limited market,” Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter on Wednesday. “It's a limited trade market unless you want to put in draft picks and contracts to get money, you're going to have a hard time adding to your roster.
“I don't expect the Lakers to look much different on opening night than they do now. There's movement on the fringes, (but) I don't see a lot of impact coming out of there for the Lakers or most teams right now. “
Losing Thompson was especially hard for LA considering they gave him more money than the Mavericks. But he chose Dallas because of the Mavs' ability to make a playoff run and Texas' lack of taxes.
The Lakers were even pushed back by the man who was called their first coach, Dan Hurley of UConn. After flying to LA and meeting with the team, Hurley chose to stay with the Huskies.
The last time the Lakers got a real star was when they got Anthony Davis in 2019. In fairness, that move led to a championship the following season.
But since then, the franchise seems to have gone downhill from the days when they could seemingly sign anyone they wanted.
Their one saving grace this offseason would be if they were able to sign DeMar DeRozan, a free agent who is well on the market.
DeRozan, 34, won't make the Lakers a legitimate contender, but it will save a front office under a lot of pressure to get LeBron James more help in the final years of his career.
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