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Three things Lakers need to be successful in 2019-20

The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up for a championship run in the NBA. Here are three things they need in 2019-20.

By Opta
LeBron James and Anthony Davis to link up next season at Lakers

Los Angeles, June 23: The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up for a championship run in the NBA.

The Lakers have already reportedly traded Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Anthony Davis, but there is still work to be done.

Los Angeles are trying to free up enough cap space for a third max player. However, there are other problems that need to be addressed.

Here are three things the Lakers need in 2019:

A quality starting point guard

The NBA is a point guard's league.

The last six NBA Finals have been won by teams with All-Star point guards, and the Western Conference is stacked with talent at the position. Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard come to mind, but the Lakers did not have a floor general close to their calibre in 2018-19.

After Los Angeles had a spat with Houston last season, Rajon Rondo served a suspension and was demoted to a reserve role behind Ball. But neither Ball nor Rondo were really given the opportunity to be a true point guard because of the Lakers' brand of position-less basketball. Ball-handling responsibilities were split between them, Kyle Kuzma, Ingram and LeBron James, who led the team in assists per game (8.3).

But now Ingram and Ball have been dealt to New Orleans. If the Lakers are able to acquire an established point guard who can be ball dominant, score, and initiate the offense in the second unit — as we all know everything will likely run through James when it comes to the starters — they could take a huge step forward.

Los Angeles have been linked to Paul, D'Angelo Russell and Kyrie Irving this offseason and have not had an All-Star Point guard since Nick Van Exel in 1997-98.

Outside shooting

The Lakers flat out were not good at shooting the basketball last season.

Los Angeles ranked 29th in three-point shooting percentage in 2018-19 at 33.3 per cent and not one starter converted more than 35 per cent of their chances from beyond the arc.

James already draws a ridiculous amount of attention on drives, and the addition of Davis will only increase the frequency of double teams in the painted area. If neither of these Lakers stars can kick the ball out to reliable snipers, their gravity will be wasted.

There are quite a few three-and-D players hitting the market who could help Los Angeles with this deficiency.

Some essence of a bench

There are a lot of question marks on the Lakers' roster for 2019-20 and they need to sort things out.

Los Angeles signed Rondo, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee to one-year deals last offseason and none of them appear to be locks to return. Then there's Tyson Chandler, who is also entering unrestricted free agency.

When the Lakers traded away a large chunk of the young core, they thinned out their already questionable depth. Los Angeles' bench for next season would likely consist of Isaac Bonga, Alex Caruso, Moritz Wagner, Johnathan Williams and Jemerrio Jones were it to be finalised today. To call that personnel shaky would be an understatement, but the Lakers are also reportedly trying to move their contracts in a salary dumping effort.

James, Davis and Kuzma are a solid front line, but this Lakers team would probably fall apart if either of their All-Stars misses extended time in 2019-20 like they did last year. Los Angeles might be the betting favourites to win the NBA Finals in 2020, but their roster's construction will definitely need some adjustments to make that goal a reality.

Story first published: Sunday, June 23, 2019, 14:47 [IST]
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