While this summer has long been circled as one of change for the Lakers, the list of players they’re interested in retaining from last year’s roster is growing.
Even on the heels of a second straight 50-win season, the playoffs made it clear the Lakers, as currently constructed, are not close to contending for a title. It’s with that in mind that an eyebrow might be raised at the multiple reports now indicating the team has interest in bringing players back from last year’s team.
In a recent article
for ESPN, Dave McMenamin reported that the Lakers are interested in re-signing two guards, and playoff heroes, from last season.
The Lakers are interested in retaining Marcus Smart and sharpshooter Luke Kennard, sources told ESPN.
This comes a handful of days after Dan Woike of The Athletic reported that the team also has interest in retaining Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, too.
Now, all of this interest doesn’t mean they have to bring these players back. And it’s entirely possible, and perhaps likely, that their interest is dependent on other things happening or in the right situation. Maybe they have interest in bringing back Smart if he picks up his option. Or maybe they have interest in Kennard if they miss on some other targets first.
In a vacuum, there are plenty of reasons to bring these players back. All of them, at some point or another, had a moment this season or even during the playoffs that helped the purple and gold win games.
Specifically, when it comes to Smart and Kennard, they stepped up in the first round against the Rockets. Kennard was unbelievable in the Game 1 win while Smart’s experience was ever-apparent and valuable throughout the first round.
At the same time, both were exposed as the postseason went along. Kennard became less effective with each passing game. The limitations of Smart’s game and the downsides of him being forced into such a prominent role were readily apparent against the Thunder, too.
Both are positive role players, but both have clear ceilings on how much they can contribute when the games really start mattering. And that’s the problem present for the role players the Lakers reportedly have interest in retaining.
How many of them can you envision playing in an NBA Finals? Or even the Western Conference Finals? That can’t be the sole requirement for players the team signs, but it has to be part of the calculation, and not an insignificant part of it.
It’s unlikely the Lakers are interested in bringing them all back as that would go against the whole idea of reshaping the roster this summer. But there should be some strong discussions about how many of them are worth re-signing.
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