Having outdone
Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in October to secure a record-tying 17th title, reigning
champions Los Angeles Lakers will be looking for a repeat of their 2019-20
heroics.

And their offseason
business holds plenty of promise for the same. The Lakers have retained two of
their biggest stars; Anthony Davies and LeBron James have signed a five-year and
a two-year contract extension worth $190 million and $85 million respectively.

Their support
cast has also been revamped, with coach Frank Vogel green-lighting the acquisitions of Spainish veteran Marc
Gasol, Germany’s Dennis Schroder and Sixth Man of the Year (given to the best
performing player coming as a substitute) Montrezl Harris among others.

The Lakers
have also parted ways with Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Avery Bradley
and JaVale McGee.

Green and
Bradley’s loss will be particularly significant as they offered a lot of support
on the wings. Those gaps, however, should be plugged by the arrival of Wesley
Matthews and Harris.

They were also
heavily reliant on ‘King James’ for their scoring last season but the signing of Schroder should help take the load off the four-time NBA MVP during the
regular season as short turnaround this season might affect his productivity, given he turns 36 this December.

Also read: LeBron James to stay at LA Lakers, agrees to a 2 year contract extension

The
champions will have to deal with the most compact gap between the seasons,
having won the title on October 11, with their first pre-season game of the 2020-21
season scheduled for December 11 against city rivals Los Angeles Clippers.

But Davies
has vowed to get back to the grind of the regular season and fight for a
record-breaking 18th crown.

“It’s hard
in a quick turnaround to play at a high level to compete for a title again but
I think we have the players and staff to do so. As a champion, you’re going to
get everyone’s best shot. You have a target on your back. You’re going to find
that motivation,” AFP quoted the 27-year-old as saying.

“We have a
bunch of new guys who want to win a championship. I think we’ll be fine in that
sense.”

The 2020-21
regular season starts on December 22 with the Brooklyn Mets scheduled to take
on the Golden State Warriors at the Barclays Center in New York. The Lakers
will start their title defence the same day, taking on the Clippers at the Staples
Center in Los Angeles.