La Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka revealed the team’s priority move in the offseason after being beaten 4-1 in the first round by the Minnesota Timber Wolves.
Despite Luka Doncic, Lebron James and Rui Hachimura pairing with 73 points, the La Lakers saw the best few miles and were punished by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 103-96 defeat in Game 5.
It was a double double for Rudy Gortbert’s monster, who scored 27 points and 24 boards.
With the Lakers having no one to stop him, this led to a third straight defeat in the series, leading to another first-round exit for Perinka’s team.
They had an player who managed to do it well for Anthony Davis, but the team swapped him with a huge trade deal that saw Donsic come on the roster.
James made a comment to Davis. Davis had asked the team before when they were still with center.
Realizing the lack of team size, Perinka said that making center moves will be a priority for the Lakers in the offseason.
The Lakers were completely crushed on the board as they could only collect 37 rebounds compared to the 54 people grabbed by T-wolves.
Fans have expressed their opinions about X, and some even said they missed Davis on the roster.
Jaxson Hayes showed some great signs in the regular season, but his defensive ability wasn’t enough to play him against Gobert or Naz Reid.
Seeing the lack of size, Perinka confirmed that the Lakers will add a center to their offseason roster.
He said: “When we made a massive transaction at the trade deadline, which trades the starting centre for point guards, of course, it created serious problems with the roster and some of them were rolled out.
“One of the main goals this offseason is to add sizes to the frontcourt at the center position. This is just part of the equation.”
Pelinka also said the offseason will be busy for many other NBA teams.
“I think there’s a lot of movement around the NBA this offseason. There’s a lot of active leaders from organizations that are hoping to succeed (quickly) and I think there’s a lot of opportunities.
The Lakers also lacked all series of defensive resilience as players like Austin Reeves and Donsic continue to be beaten by T-Wolf players.
Reaves were not at the best in the entire series, with Game 5 being poor on both ends of the floor.
Despite his fantastic show with the ball throughout the series, Donsic’s defensive weaknesses were also on display.
Seeing that, Pelinka also says that the team can add more defensive wings.
“We need a big guy, and we make sure it plays in the playoffs in terms of solidifying the defensive core of the wing and ensuring that there are players who can protect the wing position of essential needs.
“I think that helps whenever you can upgrade your defensive core at the perimeter,” Perinka said.