After winning an NBA Championship last season, the Los Angeles Lakers wasted no time improving their roster. With their bench being somewhat inconsistent last season, they were able to add two of the NBA’s best reserves to their roster during the offseason.
While they still wait for Anthony Davis to re-sign with the organization, which he is expected to do, the Lakers did extend LeBron James to an additional two seasons under his max contract. With the moves they made, the Lakers should be one of the clear favorites to win the title in the upcoming season.
Lakers Roster Additions
| Player | Transaction |
| Marc Gasol | Free Agency (TOR) |
| Montrezl Harrell | Free Agency (LAC) |
| Wesley Matthews | Free Agency (MIL) |
| Alfonzo McKinnie | Trade (CLE) |
| Dennis Schroder | Trade (OKC) |
Biggest Acquisitions
- Montrezl
Harrell : Harrell won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award last season, after dominating as a reserve the entire season. While it’s unclear what rotations will look like in the upcoming season, he will be an offensive spark for the Lakers that they’ve beendesparately needing. - Dennis Schroder: While he lost the NBA Sixth Man of the Year race to Harrell last season, Schroder was just as brilliant and will actually join him in Los Angeles. Throughout the 2019-20 regular season and playoffs, there were countless times in which Schroder led the Thunder in scoring, creating problems for any defense that tried to slow him down.
Lakers Roster Subtractions
| Player | Transaction |
| Avery Bradley | Free Agency (MIA) |
| Dwight Howard | Free Agency (PHI) |
| Rajon Rondo | Free Agency (ATL) |
| Quinn Cook | Free Agency |
| J.R. Smith | Free Agency |
| Dion Waiters | Free Agency |
| Danny Green | Trade (OKC) |
| JaVale McGee | Trade (CLE) |
Biggest Losses
- Rajon Rondo: The Lakers likely won’t feel the loss of Rondo during the regular season, they certainly will in the playoffs. There were several times throughout their postseason run in which Rondo was their third-best player, distributing the ball, scoring, and playing pesky defense. He gets even better as the stage gets bigger.
- Dwight Howard: While he isn’t the player he once was, Howard was absolutely crucial on the Lakers’ title run last season. Against several teams who tried playing small ball, he was able to make a huge impact on both ends of the floor with them not being able to match up with his size and strength.
