What can Lakers learn from each NBA conference finalist? Be bold, but smart (2024)

As the Los Angeles Lakers continue their coaching search and offseason preparation, the NBA’s conference finals are ongoing. For Los Angeles, the two series provide examples of the standard it will need to reach next season and beyond.

Here is one lesson the Lakers can learn from each conference finalist.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Size still matters

Frankly, it always will.

The Timberwolves are the biggest and most physically imposing team in the league. They start two 7-footers and often play two bigs together (and sometimes even three). Five of their eight rotation players are 6-foot-9 or taller. The only person under 6-4 who logs regular minutes is Mike Conley, and even he has a nearly 6-foot-7 wingspan. Their collective size, length and athleticism translated to their league-best defense, which has remained elite in the playoffs.

In some ways, the Wolves are reminiscent of former Lakers championship teams. The 2019-20 Lakers were supersized, starting two near-7-footers in JaVale McGee and Anthony Davis while rotating McGee, Davis and Dwight Howard in the big spots. Rajon Rondo was the only player under 6-5 in that team’s playoff rotation. Every key player was at least average defensively, if not better.

The parallels might be strongest with the 2009 and 2010 championship Lakers teams, though — a point Bomani Jones made on TNT’s Western Conference finals Altcast. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are like Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. Extending it even further, Jaden McDaniels serves the role occupied by Trevor Ariza or Ron Artest, Anthony Edwards is the Wolves’ Kobe Bryant and Conley is similar to Derek Fisher. It’s not a perfect analogy — Bryant is better than Edwards and Gasol better than any of the Wolves’ bigs — but there are clear roster-construction similarities.

With Davis and LeBron James as their foundation, the Lakers already trend in the direction of a Minnesota roster-build. They have a sizable frontcourt with Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes — though Vanderbilt is the only plus defender among that group. Minnesota’s bigs and wings are better defensively, more skilled and more athletic.

The Lakers could stand to upgrade both their starting wing and backup center spots this offseason. They need a fifth starter who blends the strengths of Hachimura and Vanderbilt and a better center option behind Davis than Wood and Hayes (who has a player option). They could also use an infusion of athleticism and physicality. Those types of players don’t come cheap, so it’s unlikely the Lakers find both — or even one — in free agency given their limited spending tools. More likely than not, they’ll have to address their needs on the trade market, which complicates their potential pursuit of a third star to pair with Davis and James.

Boston Celtics: Shoot more 3s

One of the defining trends of the playoffs has been the role that 3s — specifically 3-point volume — has played in determining wins. Entering Friday, the team that attempts the most 3s in a game is 45-24 this postseason (not counting two games in which both teams attempted the same number). That doesn’t factor in 3-point makes or 3-point percentage; simply attempts. For what it’s worth, three of the top four playoff teams in 3-point attempts per game are in the conference finals (Boston, Indiana and Dallas).

The Celtics best exemplify this strategy, leading the NBA in 3-point attempts in both the regular season and playoffs. It certainly helps to have arguably the best starting lineup in the league, with four ballhandlers and five shooters on the floor at most times. The Lakers, by comparison, ranked 28th in 3-point attempts per game and eighth in 3-point percentage in the regular season. (They are 15th and 15th, respectively, among the 16 teams in those categories in the playoffs.)

Los Angeles’ 3-point aversion potentially cost them a chance to advance, as the Denver Nuggets attempted more 3s in all five games of their first-round series. To little surprise, the Nuggets won four of the five. Of note: Denver was one of the two teams that attempted fewer 3s than the Lakers in the regular season.

Los Angeles has been reluctant to fully embrace the modern philosophy on 3-point shooting, but that needs to change next season. The offensive approaches under former coaches Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham were too archaic. There is always a risk of tilting too heavily to the 3-point line, a balance a team like Boston can struggle to strike. But the Lakers have too often been on the other side.

They need more high-volume shooters and a coach who will prioritize it.

Dallas Mavericks: Go for it (non-star edition)

The Mavericks are the perfect example of why teams should always aggressively try to improve their rosters. They’re also an illustration that you don’t need to trade for another star to drastically upgrade your team — though they technically did so when they traded for Kyrie Irving a year ago.

While most of the West, including the Lakers, stood pat at the trade deadline, the Mavericks added two starters and bolstered their roster with size, length, defense, rebounding, shooting and finishing. At this season’s trade deadline, Dallas was 28-23 and eighth in the West. The Mavericks decided to flip Richaun Holmes and a first-round pick to Washington for Daniel Gafford, then dealt Seth Curry, Grant Williams and a first-round pick to Charlotte for P.J. Washington and two second-round picks.

The trades turned their season around. Dallas finished the campaign 22-9, tying for best record in the West with Denver and the second-best in the league behind Boston over that span. The Mavericks are now three wins away from the NBA Finals, with Washington and Gafford playing critical roles in their postseason run.

If the Lakers are unable or unwilling to trade for a third star, Dallas’ blueprint makes the best case that they should instead make deals to enhance their supporting cast around James and Davis. The Mavericks gave up fringe rotation players and first-round picks to pluck two solid starters from lottery teams. If the Lakers can swing a similar move (or two) that addresses their frontcourt needs, they could ascend to a similar tier as Minnesota, Dallas, Denver and Oklahoma City.

Indiana Pacers: Go for it (star edition)

If the Mavericks present a more modest roster-building path, the Pacers are proof of the bolder approach.

Indiana went all-in in mid-January in trading three first-round picks to the Toronto Raptors for Pascal Siakam, giving budding star Tyrese Haliburton an All-Star-caliber sidekick. Siakam fit in seamlessly, providing the Pacers with a reliable half-court scorer who also complements their turbo-charged pace.

The basketball gods seemingly rewarded the Pacers for their noble intentions in trying to be as competitive as possible despite not profiling as a true contender. The day Indiana traded for Siakam, it was seventh in the East. The Pacers ended up sixth, avoiding the Play-In Tournament and facing a banged-up Milwaukee Bucks team that missed Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entire series and Damian Lillard for two games. Then, Indiana played a depleted New York Knicks squad that lost several rotation players during the series, including OG Anunoby and eventually Jalen Brunson in Game 7.

Now, the Pacers are improbably in the Eastern Conference finals. They don’t have the sheer star power of the other three conference finalists. They weren’t supposed to be here. But they capitalized on the opportunity in front of them, added a significant talent in Siakam and crashed the party.

The key for the Lakers, if they decide to pursue a third star, is finding a player who complements James and Davis. Such a player would need to thrive off the ball, in addition to adding on-ball skills and shooting. It’s unclear how cleanly Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young or Dejounte Murray — three names linked to the Lakers leaguewide for months — would assimilate. Mitchell would likely make the most seamless transition, as he’s a top-20 player who has played off the ball for stretches in Utah and Cleveland.

Mitchell — or any other potential star addition — would have to make sacrifices they haven’t made previously. And the cost for acquiring any such player is enormous, likely starting at Austin Reaves and three first-round picks (either 2024 or 2025, 2029 and 2031).

At the same time, a timid roster-building approach is unlikely to yield the results the Lakers want next season. Every conference finalist — Minnesota with Rudy Gobert, Dallas with Irving, Boston with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis and Indiana with Siakam — traded at least one first-round pick to add an All-Star-caliber player over the past two seasons.

However big the swing, the biggest lesson of all for the Lakers is they’ll need to be strategic and bold.

(Top photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)

Jovan Buha is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Lakers. Before joining the company, Jovan was an NBA editor at ESPN.com. His prior stops also include ESPN Los Angeles, FOX Sports and Grantland. Jovan is a Los Angeles native and USC alum. Follow Jovan on Twitter @jovanbuha