What can the Lakers learn from each NBA conference finalist? Be bold, but smart

As the Los Angeles Lakers continue their coaching search and offseason preparations, the NBA Conference Finals are underway. For Los Angeles, the two series are examples of the standard it must achieve next season and beyond.

Here's a lesson the Lakers can learn from any conference finalist.

Honestly, it will always be that way.

The Timberwolves are the league's tallest and most physically imposing team. They start two 7-foot-4 players and often have two tall players play together (sometimes even three). Five of their eight rotation players are 6-foot-4 or taller. The only player under 6-foot-4 who plays regularly is Mike Conley, and even he has a nearly 6-foot-4 wingspan. Their combined size, length and athleticism led to their best defense in the league, which remained top-notch in the playoffs.

In some ways, the Wolves are reminiscent of former championship-winning Lakers teams. The 2019-20 Lakers were supersized, starting two 7-foot-4 players in JaVale McGee and Anthony Davis, while McGee, Davis and Dwight Howard rotated at the big positions. Rajon Rondo was the only player under 6-foot-5 in that team's playoff rotation. Every key player was at least average, if not better, on defense.

The parallels are probably strongest, however, with the Lakers' championship teams of 2009 and 2010 – a point Bomani Jones made on TNT's Altcast of the Western Conference Finals. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are like Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. To take it even further, Jaden McDaniels fills the role of Trevor Ariza or Ron Artest, Anthony Edwards is the Kobe Bryant of the Wolves and Conley resembles Derek Fisher. It's not a perfect analogy – Bryant is better than Edwards and Gasol is better than any of the Wolves' great players – but there are clear similarities in how the roster is constructed.

With Davis and LeBron James as the foundation, the Lakers are already trending toward a Minnesota-style roster build. They have a formidable frontcourt with Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes — although Vanderbilt is the only plus point in that group. Minnesota's bigs and wings are better defensively, more skilled and more athletic.

The Lakers could upgrade both their starting wing and backup center positions this offseason. They need a fifth starter who combines 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. These types of players don't come cheap, so it's unlikely the Lakers will find both – or even one – on the free agent market given their limited spending options. They'll most likely have to fill their needs on the transfer market, complicating their potential search for a third star to complement Davis and James.

One of the defining trends of the playoffs has been the role that three-pointers — particularly three-point frequency — have played in determining victories. Through Friday, the team attempting the most three-pointers in a game this postseason is 45-24 (not counting two games in which both teams attempted the same number of threes). That doesn't take into account three-pointers made or three-point percentage, just attempts. Incidentally, three of the top four playoff teams in terms of three-point attempts per game are in the conference finals (Boston, Indiana and Dallas).

The Celtics are the best example of this strategy, leading the NBA in 3-point attempts during the regular season and the playoffs. It certainly helps to have arguably the best starting lineup in the league, with four ball handlers and five shooters on the court most of the time. The Lakers, on the other hand, were 28th in 3-point attempts per game during the regular season and 8th in 3-point percentage. (In the playoffs, they rank 15th and 15th, respectively, among the 16 teams in those categories.)

Los Angeles' three-point aversion might have cost them a chance to advance, as the Denver Nuggets attempted more threes in all five of their first-round games. Not surprisingly, the Nuggets won four of the five games. Notably, Denver was one of two teams that attempted fewer threes than the Lakers during the regular season.

Los Angeles has so far refused to fully embrace the modern philosophy of the three-point shot, but that must change next season. The offensive strategies of former coaches Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham were too outdated. There is always the danger of focusing too much on the three-point line, a balance that is difficult for a team like Boston to strike. But the Lakers have been on the other side too often.

They need more competitive shooters and a coach who prioritizes this.

Dallas Mavericks: Let's go (edition without stars)

The Mavericks are the perfect example of why teams should always be aggressive in trying to improve their rosters. They're also an example of how you don't necessarily have to trade another star to drastically improve your team – although they technically did that when they traded Kyrie Irving a year ago.

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While most of the West, including the Lakers, remained unchanged at the trade deadline, the Mavericks signed two starters and bolstered their roster in terms of size, length, defense, rebounding, shooting and finishing. At this season's trade deadline, Dallas was 28-23 and eighth in the West. The Mavericks opted to trade Richaun Holmes and a first-round pick to Washington for Daniel Gafford, then traded Seth Curry, Grant Williams and a first-round pick to Charlotte for PJ Washington and two second-round picks.

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

If the Lakers are unable or unwilling to sign a third star, Dallas' plan argues for instead making deals to bolster their supporting cast around James and Davis. The Mavericks traded away rotation players and first-round picks to acquire two solid starters from lottery teams. If the Lakers can pull off a similar move (or two) that fills their frontcourt needs, they could move into a similar league as Minnesota, Dallas, Denver and Oklahoma City.

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Indiana Pacers: Join in (Star Edition)

While the Mavericks propose a more modest path to roster construction, the Pacers are proof of the bolder approach.

Indiana went all out in mid-January, trading three first-round picks to the Toronto Raptors for Pascal Siakam, giving rising star Tyrese Haliburton an All-Star-caliber sidekick. Siakam fit seamlessly into the team and gave the Pacers a reliable half-court scorer who also complements their turbo-paced game.

The basketball gods seemingly rewarded the Pacers for their noble intentions to be as competitive as possible despite not emerging as a true contender. The day Indiana signed Siakam, the team was ranked seventh in the East. The Pacers finished in sixth place, failed to make the play-in tournament, and faced a banged-up Milwaukee Bucks team that was missing Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entire series and Damian Lillard for two games. Then Indiana played a depleted New York Knicks team 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 really shouldn't be here. But they took the opportunity that was presented to them, signed a major talent in Siakam and crashed the party.

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The key for the Lakers if they decide to sign a third star is to find a player who complements James and Davis. Such a player would need to have ball skills and shooting technique as well as success without the ball. It's unclear how well Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young or Dejounte Murray – three names that have been linked to the Lakers leaguewide for months – would fit in. Mitchell would likely make the smoothest transition, as he's a top-20 player who played long periods without the ball in Utah and Cleveland.

Mitchell – or any other potential star addition – would have to make sacrifices they haven't made so far. And the cost of signing such a player is enormous, likely starting with Austin Reaves and three first-round picks (either 2024 or 2025, 2029 and 2031).

At the same time, a tentative approach to roster construction is unlikely to produce the results the Lakers expect next season. Every conference finalist – Minnesota with Rudy Gobert, Dallas with Irving, Boston with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis, and Indiana with Siakam – has traded away at least one first-round pick to acquire an All-Star-caliber player in the past two seasons.

No matter how big the swing, the most important lesson for the Lakers is that they need to be strategic and bold.

(Top photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)