The Lakers have done little in the trade market, and so far, the Lakers' biggest addition this summer is Bronny, which can't improve the team, but it can improve the box office. The Lakers' plan to grab people was almost destroyed by others, the previously rumored Murray joined the Pelicans, Paul chose the Spurs, Thompson chose the Mavericks at the price of cabbage, anyway, they didn't serve the Lakers, which made the giant team Lakers and the first James lose face.
The trade market is indeed a slap in the face of the Lakers, Thompson rejected the Warriors for 2 years and 50 million and also refused to join the Lakers, but instead asked for a 3-year 50 million contract. Paul was even more unwilling to be completely ruined by the Lakers' base salary, and instead joined the Spurs, Murray has been rumored to have no intention of joining the Lakers, and it has always been rumored that the Lakers are wishful thinking, and James is still taking a salary cut and waiting for new teammates to join.
The Lakers originally ambitiously formulated a series of talent grabbing plans, hoping to bring in strong reinforcements to improve the team's competitiveness. But it backfired, and their plans fell through. Seeing that the players they liked were snatched away by other teams one by one, the Lakers fell into an embarrassing situation. In today's transfer market, there are very few quality players left for the Lakers to choose from, and Joe Jr., DeRozan and Grant have become the few options. However, it remains to be seen whether these players will actually be able to fill the Lakers' roster.
The Bulls offered DeRozan a very lucrative contract, it depends on DeRozan's feelings, choose to return to his hometown to accept a middle class, or stay with the Bulls to get a high salary, is this still a choice. Although Grant is already useless to the Trail Blazers, the Lakers' chips are really not good for the Trail Blazers, so there is only Joe Jr. Bridges wants a lucrative contract, and the Hornets can't afford to renew his contract with a high salary, which is a good opportunity for the Lakers to grab people, but a player like Joe Jr. is not a piece of the championship puzzle, and the Lakers can only think about the future.
While the team's reinforcements are in trouble, the situation of James, the core of the team, is also embarrassing. In order for the team to have more salary space to bring in players, James chose to take a pay cut. This was supposed to be a sacrifice for the good of the team, but it was ridiculed by the outside world.
Those voices of ridicule are undoubtedly disrespectful and misunderstood to James. As a superstar who has played in the league for many years, James knows that for the team to be successful, it needs to make reasonable adjustments and additions to the roster. His willingness to lower his salary in order to create better conditions for the team should be commended and recognized.
James' salary cut has multiple implications, on the one hand, the team can use this space to strengthen, and on the other hand, it wants to get Bronny a stable contract. For a player like Bronny, the Lakers will give him a two-way contract at most, and the probability of playing in the NBA regular season is not high, and Bronny will be played in several key games for the sake of profit, such as a good start, Christmas war, etc., which will be cut at any time, but James is still fighting for Bronny.
However, regardless of the final outcome, we can't ignore the effort and sacrifice James has made for the team. At the same time, I also hope that the Lakers can get out of the predicament as soon as possible, regain their former glory, and bring more surprises and touches to the fans.
In this competitive league, every team goes through ups and downs, and the key is how to find their way out of the difficult situation and rise again. I believe that the Lakers have such a foundation and strength, and I also believe that James can lead the team through this difficult period.