5 biggest questions facing the Lakers heading into the offseason

From LeBron James’ and D’Angelo Russell’s contract decisions to Darvin Ham’s future with the organization, here are the five biggest questions facing the Lakers heading into the offseason.

For the second consecutive season, the Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in a playoff series that was closer than the tally of games played would suggest, but reflective of the differences in late-game execution, continuity, and general shot-making.

The Lakers were able to win a game this time, had a double-digit lead in four of the five games, and were ahead on the scoreboard for many more minutes than the Nuggets were. However, the Lakers are still in their offseason while Denver moves on to the next round.

Said a different way, the Lakers were very good but the Nuggets were just better. It happens. Especially against that team. Something that, over the past two seasons, the Lakers know very well.

With the offseason now upon them, the Lakers are staring down the barrel of uncertainty, with many questions needing clarity. Some of them stem from decisions the team will need to make themselves, others from decisions that will be made upon them, and some that, if they want to go that route, would need some mutual agreement between them and another team to consummate.

So, with that, here are the five key questions facing the Lakers this offseason

Who will be the Lakers coach next season?

The Lakers season was not even over yet and there were whispers about Darvin Ham’s long-term viability as head coach. Was he coaching for his job these playoffs? Would have to defeat the Nuggets outright to stay on? If he lost, would he be fired before he even got to do postgame media? Okay, that last one isn’t real. But you get the point.

So, it was no surprise that shortly after the team’s Game 5 media availability was completed, reports started to emerge that Ham’s status as Lakers head coach was in serious jeopardy.

Whether it was his season-long rotation decisions — including early season benchings of both Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell, the over-reliance on Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish, the perceived lack of accountability for him and his staff’s performance when the team played poorly, the back and forth he had with AD between Games 3 and 4 regarding the team’s on-court organization, or any other number of strategic decision making. It seemed Ham was losing or had already lost credibility in both the locker room and other parts of the organization.

Of course, just because those things are reported does not mean they are universally held beliefs. We’ll know more when the front office makes up its mind entirely, but until then, it’s just as fair to wonder if Ham would be back as it would be to wonder that he’ll be out.

That said, if it is the latter, the pool of available candidates with previous head coaching experience is not that deep. And the pool of available coaches who have led teams to deep playoff runs or won a title is even less so.

Would this fact influence the decision to retain Ham? If the Lakers do move on, would they limit their search to coaches who tilt toward having more experience? Would they really hire another first-time head coach? Could they really stick with Ham after all? These are the types of questions that will only intensify in the coming days, and whatever decision is made on Ham will only inspire louder questions and opinions from fans and analysts alike.

What will LeBron decide?

LeBron just had the best 21st season any NBA player has ever put forward, a season after having the best 20th season, which came a year after having the best 19th season, which came a year after....you get my point.

As a winner of four championships with three different franchises, four league MVP’s, four Finals MVP’s, the all-time leading scorer, the only player to reach the 40,000 point milestone and the only player to ever score even 25k+ points, grab 10k+ rebounds, and dish 10k+ assists, LeBron literally has nothing else to prove.

He has said so himself, noting that there’s nothing he wanted to accomplish in his career that he has not done to this point.

In saying that, there are layers to the decisions LeBron has in front of him. Of course, he could always decide to retire, though reports for months have noted his preference is to play one or two more seasons, both for himself and at least partially for him to share an NBA court with his son Bronny — either as a teammate or even as an opponent.

So, if retirement is mostly off the table, the question becomes whether LeBron opts out of his contract with the Lakers or opts in, and if it’s the former, whether he is back with the team at all.

Many believe whatever Bron decides regarding his free agency status, he’ll be back with the Lakers. That said, if he does opt out, he opens the door to not coming back and could further court opposing teams — whether they have cap space or not — to make their respective pitches to try to get him to their team.

But the hardest recruitment of all may come from a familiar face — Anthony Davis. AD said that he’ll do his best to get Bron back on the Lakers when they’re teammates this summer for Team USA at the summer Olympics in Paris.

Will D’Angelo Russell opt in or opt out?

Despite some ups and downs this season and another checkered playoff performance that showed off the range between his ceiling and his floor, Russell had maybe his best season as a pro. He proved to be a critical figure in the Lakers push over the last two-plus months of the season that landed them in the seventh seed after a play-in win over the Pelicans.

Russell came into and spent much of the first half of the season seemingly destined to be traded. But after his aforementioned individual turnaround and contributions towards winning, he now enters the offseason with optionality on his contract and, based on his own view, some leverage in how he might approach his decision to either opt out of his deal or play out the final year of his current deal.

Unlike LeBron, Russell has less certainty both in terms of the Lakers long-term interest and from a salary standpoint, making his decision more nuanced and carrying increased considerations. For example...

If he opts out, is he certain to get a deal with a starting salary equal to or more than what his current deal would pay? If he opts out, would he be looking to stay with the Lakers, but on a long-term deal? Depending on the answers to those first two questions, if he does opt out, would he be looking for more security in terms of years while taking less money in annual average salary?

Opting in, on the other hand, comes with questions about whether he’d actually make it to next season as a member of the Lakers or if he’d get traded. And, while it’s easy to project now that he’d be gone, I wouldn’t be so quick to conclude that.

Trading expiring contracts is usually easier near the trade deadline than in the summer, to say nothing of how much value Russell has in a deal vs. what his value as an on-court player to the Lakers is.

In other words, none of this is so simple, and the deeper you dive down the rabbit hole, the more variables start to stack on both sides of the ledger to (seemingly) complicate the decision-making process.

Lastly, Russell seemed to imply he’ll use the leverage he has with the option he possesses to get the best outcome for him. But, again, what’s best isn’t entirely clear and so much of this will come down to what Russell values most, which isn’t something we’re likely to know until we get closer to when his decision has to be made — if we ever get to know it at all.

Will the Lakers chase a 3rd star?

Yes. Next question.

Not to sound trite, but the Lakers are in the business of having the best players in the league play for them. From Mikan to Baylor to West to Wilt to Kareem to Magic to Shaq to Kobe to LeBron — to say nothing of Goodrich and Wilkes and Worthy and Pau and AD — the history of the NBA cannot be written without the icons who have donned the Lakers uniform and they’ll continue to try to get those players as long as there’s an NBA.

The more pertinent question may be which star the Lakers will try to get and, even more pertinent, whether they will actually get him.

The most common names for the former have been lingering for months, and need not be repeated now. I’d imagine, though, that the playoffs and which teams disappoint or struggle will influence how large that list gets.

Whether any of them will truly be available, and maybe even more of a question — available to the Lakers — is maybe more of a mystery. History tells us, though, that the Lakers will do their best to get another top player who can complement their stars and, considering where LeBron is at this stage of his career, help carry the franchise forward with AD.

Can they possibly run this same team back again?

The Lakers went into the postseason with 15 players on their roster. Of those 15, only three — Taurean Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Max Christie — don’t either have a guaranteed contract or have a player option with the Lakers next season. Below is an accounting:

Under contract: AD, Rui, Austin, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Maxwell Lewis
Player option: LeBron, D-Lo, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes, and Cam Reddish

In theory, then, if every single player who has an option decides to opt-in to their deal with the Lakers, the team suddenly has 12 players under contract and only three available roster spots left to fill.

While the likelihood of every player opting in seems low, it’s not off the table at all — particularly for the minimum-salaried players who may not want to risk going into free agency again this summer and instead just bank their guaranteed salary.

As for LeBron and Russell, we outlined both above, and it’s very possible both take the guaranteed money in their contracts and deal with their respective futures by either extending those deals with the Lakers.

Add in the potential the Lakers are unable to make a move in the trade market, and at least part of whether the Lakers run it back next season won’t entirely be up to them.

Of course, if you hear some of the players tell it, running it back might be the best plan anyway. In the lead-up to game 4, Rui spoke about the Nuggets’ continuity and how important it is to their success. And then, in the aftermath of Game 5, he reiterated how valuable he thinks continuity is and expressed his desire to keep this team together, believing they’re on the right track.

“I think this is the team,” Rui said. “We can be a championship team. We just have to keep building it. You guys see all these teams that are winning, they’ve been building for years, years, years. It depends on the team. Every team has a different strategy but those are the ones winning. We just got to keep building.

“These past 30 games, we had a great stretch. I think we beat most the teams in the league except (Denver). Our chemistry was so good. I think playing with these guys, I had a lot of fun. On the court with them, off the court, I felt very comfortable around these guys. I think we have a chance next year, too. We’re on the right track I feel like.”

I don’t think Rui is alone in believing that this group can do something special. Whether the front office believes it, too, remains to be seen

You can follow Darius on Twitter at @forumbluegold.