The Los Angeles Lakers came into the 2025 NBA offseason badly needing to upgrade their roster. After being quickly eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, there were some clear needs to address.
First and foremost, the Lakers needed to bring in a better starting center. Jaxson Hayes simply didn’t get the job done last year. Deandre Ayton was signed following the buyout that he received from the Portland Trail Blazers.
After that, Los Angeles badly needed to add more perimeter defense. Rob Pelinka was able to add some help in that department on Saturday with the addition of veteran guard Marcus Smart. He was signed to a two-year, $11 million contract after being bought out by the Washington Wizards.
More depth was also a need. The Lakers brought in Jake LaRavia, who is an intriguing young wing and forward combo.
With that being said, Los Angeles did lose Dorian Finney-Smith, who was a key role player after being acquired last season in a trade.
Fans have been buzzing about the Lakers’ offseason since the Smart move. One social most in particular drew a lot of opinions about their offseason.
It didn’t take long for fans to jump into the comments section and share their thoughts on what the team has done thus far. There was a lot of backlash for what Pelinka has done.
“They got better but is LeBron returning ? If he returns they’re 6/7 in the west. If he doesn’t ? They’re 11/12,” one fan wrote.
A second fan chimed in, “Well they didn’t get better lol.”
“They didn’t get any better,” a third comment read.
Another comment said, “Acting like they got so much better with Deandre ayton and Marcus smart in 25.”
“Smart has played like 50 games over then last 2 years combined,” a fifth fan wrote.
Obviously, fans are not necessarily content with the Los Angeles offseason. Perhaps Pelinka has more moves up his sleeve, but for now there isn’t a lot of happiness within the Lakers’ fan base or a lot of optimism about them from league-wide fans.
