Shaquille O'Neal has no faith in LA Lakers to retool roster after brutal playoffs loss
Shaquille O’Neal did not think the LA Lakers would win Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Hall of Famer was on the money with his prediction as the Lakers lost 103-96 to the Timberwolves in front of their home fans. Despite being the third-seeded team, LA lost 4-1 to the sixth-ranked Timberwolves.
In his postgame analysis for Inside the NBA, O’Neal had this to say about his former team:
(9:40 mark)
“They have two of the top-name players on their team, but let’s just keep it real. They’re not good enough and it’s unfortunate they’re gonna be like this for a while. They’re not gonna make any moves this summer. Gotta pay two guys $50 million and up, so get used to this.”
The LA Lakers have nine players under contract next season that will amount to $121.2 million, per Spotrac. LeBron James has a $52.6 million player option while Dorian Finney-Smith has the same clause for $15.3 million. The former could take a slight pay cut but the latter will reportedly look for more. Assuming both opt into their deals, the Lakers will be $18.7 million below the projected $207.8 million second apron.
Shaquille O’Neal was right. The Lakers have limited flexibility to retool the roster.
LA Lakers will need Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to improve defensively next season, per Charles Barkley
At halftime of Game 5 between the LA Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Charles Barkley said that the home team had “no sense of desperation.” Barkley added that if LeBron James and Co. wanted to, they still could not stop a "nosebleed."
After the game and considering the Lakers’ tight cap space, Barkley added to the bleak look:
“They gonna get some more athletic ability. They can’t guard anybody. They gonna have to find somebody to cover for LeBron and Luka. LeBron don’t play defense anymore. Luka can’t guard a chair. You’re gonna have to have Wilt, Kareem and Bill Russell back there blocking shots if they don’t keep anybody in front of them.”
At the very least, the Lakers need a center who can protect the rim. Minnesota badly exposed LA’s glaring hole in the middle. JJ Redick benched Jaxson Hayes since the second half of Game 4. Redick chose Maxi Kleber, who has not played since January, over Hayes in the winner-take-all Game 5.
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley don’t see the LA Lakers improving the roster because of salary cap limitations.
