In 2022-23, the Lakers started the season 2-10. Just before the February trade deadline, they were 25-31. After making a few trades, they went 18-8 to close the regular season.
A play-in victory over Minnesota secured the West’s No. 7 seed. After defeating the short-handed Grizzlies in the first round in six games, the Lakers took out the Warriors — the defending champions at that point — in the second round in another six-game series.
However, they were swept in the conference finals by the Nuggets, who went on to win their first title in 2023. Head of basketball Rob Pelinka talked up continuity last offseason, ultimately re-signing Austin Reaves , Rui Hachimura , D’Angelo Russell and extending Jarred Vanderbilt . One significant roster change was letting Dennis Schröder walk in free agency, essentially replacing him by signing Gabe Vincent .
Due to a knee injury, Vincent was limited to just 11 games and largely struggled in the time he was on the court. L.A.
gave out three minimum-salary one-plus-one (one-year with a player option for year two) deals to Christian Wood , Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish . The results were underwhelming. To this point, only Wood has made a determination on his player option for 2024-25, opting in and securing $3M.
Last summer, the Lakers used their bi-annual exception to sign Taurean Prince , who shot 39.6% from three-point range in his 78 regular season appearances, including 49 starts (27.0 minutes per contest).
Prince’s outsized ro.
