The Lakers 2017-18 season came to close this week with a win over the Clippers. Their season featured a rollercoaster ride of bad losing streaks and flashes of young talent. To some Lakers fans, this summer weighs heavily on signing free-agents. However, Lakers front office isn't panicking about landing top players this summer. Laker GM Rob Pelinka says that they won't force anything heading into the season. Per LA Times:
"I don't look at July 2018 as the litmus test of success.I think that there is a theme, a strategy, that you can see in history that is not going to be just defined by one moment. That will be the next point of time to see what happens, but there is a strong trend of success in our players and how the team is being managed that is going to continue going forward regardless of what specifically happens in July of 2018."
Both Pelinka and Lakers president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, feel confident that the team can land free-agents this summer, especially after clearing cap space at the trade deadline. Johnson has made it clear that the Lakers won't throw money at the first free-agent they meet with. Per LakersNation:
“We’ve already said if we don’t feel we can get somebody in ‘18 we’ll get somebody in ‘19. I feel really good with where we are. We’re not going to give money away just to say we signed somebody.”
The Lakers tallied a 35-47 season record and finished 11th in the western conference. The team will have big decisions to make on whether they will re-sign players such as Julius Randle and Isaiah Thomas.
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