The key! The Lakers have new trends in signings, Pelinka aims at Lopez, Reeves is in a game to renew his contract

After losing to the Timberwolves in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, they were eliminated one-to-four. The Los Angeles Lakers, who have James, Reeves, and Doncic, enter the 2025 offseason in advance. Their lineup adjustment and recruitment plan will attract attention in the future. The latest news shows that general manager Pelinka included Bucks center Brooke Lopez as an important signing target this summer. At the same time, the contract renewal negotiations of third giant Reeves are in difficulties and troubles due to the requirement of an annual salary of $30 million. Whether the two operations can be successfully implemented will affect the Lakers' plan to win the championship next season. In terms of signing, Lopez is regarded as the ideal candidate for the Lakers to strengthen the fifth position with his outstanding technical characteristics. This season, Lopez, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks and partnered with Antetokounmpo, has played in 80 regular season games, and averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. His franchise protection and three-point shooting are the advantages of the former. In terms of data, Lopez's three-point shooting percentage this season is 37.3%. As a result, he can get it from the inside and open up the offensive space, which is in line with the offensive system led by James and Doncic. In the 2024-2025 season, he was eliminated in the first round because of insufficient inside height and congested space. The introduction of Lopez can relieve the pressure and give Hayes a breath of relief. However, it is not so easy to introduce Lopez, and it faces great competition. The Warriors led by Curry, Green, and the Suns who have Durant, Booker and Bill are also very interested in the former, so he, who is about to become a free agent, will seek a good annual salary and opportunity to compete for the championship. According to salary experts, Lopez's market value should be between 12 million and 18 million US dollars, so the Lakers must choose one of the two between salary space and championship competition. In addition, Lopez is not without weaknesses. His age and playoff status are potential troubles. His slow movement speed and defensive efficiency are also points to pay attention to. It is worth mentioning that renewing the contract with Reeves is another troublesome point for the Lakers. As Reeves, who has quickly grown from a undraft to the third core after three seasons, has played in 73 regular season games this season, averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. He fought with injuries in the playoffs. Although it is unstable, his status has been consolidated to a certain extent. Ricardo Sandoval revealed that the Lakers will provide Reeves with a four-year contract worth $89.2 million this summer, but the latter is expected to directly refuse and jump to existing contracts to become a free agent and test the trading market. His team's expected salary for the new contract is $30 million per year. You should know that the difficulty of renewing the contract is mainly two aspects: the first limitation of the labor-management agreement and the contradiction of market expectations. According to the NBA's labor and capital terms, General Manager Pelinka chose to renew Reeves early, with the upper limit of the increase being 140% of the last year's salary, which is about $23 million. If Reeves did not renew his contract in advance and chose to jump out of the contract and become a free agent, his starting salary would have a chance to exceed $42 million. Such a big difference would allow the former team to choose to wait and see if the management is sincere before making a decision. The Lakers are also trapped in a key game, and they must retain the core and ensure flexible salary and make decisions. After all, the subsequent impact is great. Therefore, from the team level, introducing center Lopez and renewing the contract with Reeves will ensure that the Los Angeles Lakers will have a stable lineup framework in the next two to three seasons. Pelinka must solve the problems of two shortcomings in the free market, through the evaluation of operation and player ability in this limited time, and now it is necessary to solve the problems of inside and defender, and to make preparations for James after he retires. It should be noted that every decision made by the Lakers during the offseason will not only affect the record of next season, but also affect whether James can compete for the championship in the late stage.