Hey, everyone, welcome to the Lakers newsletter, a time for me to write a bunch a basketball items all in service of me trying to make you listen to a song of my choosing.

This week, I wanted to share kind of a common exercise I take in the summer, and how my thoughts on team building are evolving.

The man before the man

I was speaking to a longtime NBA talent evaluator this week when we began speaking about the playoffs and the game Minnesota wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker had just played against the Thunder — 23 points, four rebounds, six assists and five made threes in eight attempts while playing the kind of on-ball defense that teams all want.

Alexander-Walker will be an unrestricted free agent after this season and due for a healthy raise from the $4.3 million he earned this season. He’s exactly the kind of player whom Lakers fans want to see the team chase.

But as I was speaking to this exec, he mentioned a saying a previous employer tasked their pro scouts to focus on: “Find the man before he becomes the man.”

See, a lot of Alexander-Walker’s value to the Timberwolves comes from how his on-court impact dwarfs his impact on the team’s salary cap. He’s currently Minnesota’s ninth highest-paid player. Next season’s full mid-level exception is $14.2 million. The taxpayer mid-level exception is $5.7 million.

The latter seems as though it’ll be too low to get a two-way wing entering his prime like Alexander-Walker, and the full number (which the Lakers aren’t projected to have available) would make him the fifth highest-paid player on the Lakers’ books next season.

All of this is to say that, in speaking with scouts and executives from around the league, the key to having the best possible roster isn’t signing Alexander-Walker — it’s adding a player who can affect your roster as he has in Minnesota.

Finding rotation players who can play on rookie and minimum contracts is one of the keys to building depth. When the Lakers won the championship in 2020, Alex Caruso, Dwight Howard and Kyle Kuzma were all on bargain deals. This year in the playoffs, the Lakers’ “cheap” players were Jaxson Hayes and Jordan Goodwin.

Although one obvious pathway for the Lakers to improve this summer is via trade, packaging a group of players with expiring contracts for higher-impact players, another is going to be on the minimum-contract market.

Trouble is that every team is looking for help like this and they’re all fishing in a free-agency pool that’s generally regarded as weak, especially when it comes to players who scouts think could be both affordable and improving.

Luckily, when it comes to this type of player, situation and opportunity, as well as system and fit, are as important as talent — maybe even more. And role players who got paid when they hit the market and didn’t live up to the paycheck, well, they can usually be had for cheap as they try to rebuild value.

With Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers have a core that they’re familiar with and know the kind of players that work around them. Finding great role players before they get paid like great role players should be the charge of any contending front office.

Luka look

Photos of Doncic looking trimmed down in early stages of summer hit the internet this past week, with Doncic posting some himself on his Instagram, including workout photos in Lakers gear.

Without trying to gauge whether Doncic is in awesome shape or in a flattering T-shirt, I will say this: There were people in his camp who felt as though he was in store for a big offseason because of the humiliation he felt in the discussions about his work ethic and conditioning after he was traded from Dallas.

With EuroBasket getting underway in late August, the Lakers should expect a fully engaged Doncic whenever he gets back to Los Angeles.

Song of the week

“Elderberry Wine” by Wednesday

If there’s new Wednesday or MJ Lenderman music, it’s ending up here. The steel pedal, the vocals, Lenderman on guitar … some real song of the summer stuff for me and the kind of thing I’ll have on repeat for months. Also, another great Wednesday video.

In case you missed it

So far for the Lakers, it’s been status quo in the offseason

The Lakers should draft a big man who’s also a grown-up

Until next time …

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