2017 Los Angeles Lakers

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Los Angeles Lakers (Last Year: 26-56)

2017-18 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Timofey Mozgov/Ivica Zubic/Tarik Black

PF: Julius Randle/Larry Nance Jr.

SF: Luol Deng/Brandon Ingram/Corey Brewer

SG: *Nick Young/Jordan Clarkson

PG: D’Angelo Russell/David Nwaba

NBA Free Agents:

*G/F-Nick Young (PO)

SF-Metta World Peace (UFA)

PG-Tyler Ennis (UFA)

PF-Thomas Robinson (UFA)

2017-18 Team Salary: Approximately $81.5 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Continue the Rebuild: The Lakers missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year, which is the longest drought in franchise history. While it is an unusual situation for a historic team to be in, the Lakers have a young core of talent that has the future looking bright and will add to it with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

2. Be Smart in Free Agency: Patience is wearing thin in L.A., and the Lakers will likely pursue any big-name free agents if they can fit them in their cap situation. What the team needs to avoid is hitting the panic button in free agency like it did a year ago with the signings of Luol Deng to a 4-year, $76 million deal and Timofey Mozgov to a 4-year, $64 million contract. Dang, those are awful, ugly contracts.

3. Experienced Wing Scorer: If Nick Young opts out of his contract and is not re-signed, the Lakers could use an experienced wing scorer, especially since they traded Lou Williams prior to the trade deadline.