The Los Angeles Lakers are 3-10 to start the season after notching a much-needed win over the Nets on Sunday night despite the absence of LeBron James, who sat out for a second straight game with a groin injury.
James’ health jumped to the top of the Lakers’ list of concerns, but even when he does return to the lineup there are plenty of things to fix. After another offseason where the Lakers refused to sign shooters, the team ranks dead last in three-point shooting in the league and while there could be some positive regression on its way, the roster is what it is (as James has said many times) and they’re never going to light it up until changes are made.
However, as has been reported a number of times, the Lakers aren’t willing to make moves too quickly, even as they’ve slipped into the basement of the West standings. As the front office continues to drag its feet on making a trade involving their 2027 and 2029 first round picks, despite LeBron making clear that’s what he wants to have happen, they have found a new reason to put off making any drastic maneuvers. Per Marc Stein, L.A. has decided they won’t make roster changes until Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant are healthy and in the lineup, after both had thumb surgery during camp.
The Lakers have indeed looked at free agents for a potential in-season roster boost — first Moe Harkless and more recently Joe Wieskamp and Tony Snell — but the sense I got after spending the past week in L.A. is that their preference is to wait for the returns of Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant before making judgments that could lead to changes. The Lakers have high hopes that Schröder in particular can give the offense a boost after both he and Bryant sustained thumb injuries during the preseason that required surgery.
Look, I get wanting to see the roster as it could be, but color me skeptical that Schröder and Bryant are going to turn the fortunes of these Lakers. This isn’t a team in need of just a little more competent depth, which those two very well could provide, they need something rather dramatic in terms of an influx of talent.
However, for a front office that put themselves in this position, being able to point to any absences allows them to kick the can down the road a bit more and make it seem like they’re trying. The problem comes when they’ve waited so long that the playoffs become out of reach — unless, of course, that’s their preference to feeling pressured into making a chase for a mid-seed by dealing away the last of their assets.