The offseason has been a near overhaul for the Lakers’ roster, and former NBA player Matt Barnes is having fun analyzing it.
In a video with TMZ Sports, Barnes called out the team’s roster and said it’s the “whitest Laker team since the Minneapolis Lakers.”
Barnes cracked a smile as he was joking about the Lakers team and then went on to praise them for building around Luka Dončić.
“But again, man, when you’ve got Luka and AR [Austin Reaves] out there, to me two of the best scoring guards in the league. They added some depth,” Barnes said. “To me, I just got to see it. Everyone wants to give a hot take and predict what they feel like they’re gonna do.”
The Lakers are preparing to enter the first year of the Dončić era after LeBron James departed from the franchise after an eight-year stint.
The Lakers have spent the offseason building around Dončić as the team fulfilled his request for a big man by acquiring Walker Kessler via sign-and-trade, giving him a four-year extension for $130 million.
The team also extended Reaves, Dončić’s partner in crime, by giving him a four-year, $185 million max contract that includes a player option in the final year of his deal.
The front office has also built a strong supporting cast, adding Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle.
“They’re trying to build around him. I don’t know if there is new ownership or not, so they gotta kind of figure that out,” Barnes said. “The Lakers, whether they’re up or down, when they’re down, they don’t stay down long. So, it’s going to be interesting to see what this season looks like.”
