With LeBron coming back for Year 21, the Los Angeles Lakers will be put under a microscope once again for every free agency move they made. When you have superstars on your roster, it is championship or bust. How did the Lakers do this offseason? Seems like the front office understood what it had to do and added pieces to create an excellent supporting cast.
Here is a snapshot of the moves they made this offseason:
Added: Gabe Vincent (3 years, $33 million), Jaxson Hayes (2 years, $4.5 million), Cam Reddish (2 years, $4.5 million), Taurean Prince (1 year, $4.5 million)
Drafted: Jalen Hood-Schifino (17th pick), Maxwell Lewis (40th pick)
Re-signed: Austin Reaves (4 years, $56 million), Rui Hachimura (3 years, $51 million), D’Angelo Russell (2 years, $35 million)
Lost: Dennis Schroder, Mo Bamba, Malik Beasley, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr.
The biggest move had to be re-signing Austin Reaves for a cheap price. A deal that pays him $13 million a year wouldn’t be described as cheap for the average Filipino but there were talks that Reaves would receive contract offers towards the $17 to $20 million range, which would have crippled the Lakers.
Reaves, who averaged around 13-3-3 per game last season, showed a lot of improvement from last year and cemented his spot in the rotation beside Anthony Davis and LeBron James. It was wise for the Lakers to keep him and they did it at a discount.
Both Russell and Hachimura also secured their contracts to return to LA. These two contracts may seem a little too expensive but it isn’t all bad. Hachimura played better as the season progressed after being traded from Washington. In the playoffs, he averaged 12.5 points with almost 50 percent from 3. He’s also shown that he fares better against teams that play bigger, such as the Nuggets and Grizzlies.
Laker fans, meanwhile, have a love-hate relationship with DLo. There are times he looks like the third-best player on the team like in the first two playoff series last year. However, there are also times when he is unplayable, similar to what happened in the Denver series. With the Lakers’ desire to preserve LeBron, DLo has a ton of opportunities to use screens and become a facilitator. What is also good about his contract is that his second year is a player option, which means if DLo walks, it becomes an expiring contract and frees up cap space next year.
The Lakers let Schroder walk but they replaced him with Gabe Vincent. Both are tough defensive guards. They both love to pressure the ball and act as pests to opposing guards. The difference between the two lies in their offensive game. Schroder is more of a ball-dominant guard, who needs the ball in his hands to be effective. This is not to say that Vincent cannot handle the ball - he showed last season that in stretches, he can handle the rock and run the offense as a primary guard. But Vincent is more comfortable playing off-ball than Schroder. In a game, there will be times that either LeBron or AD will demand the ball, and having the ability to play off-ball is crucial to stay on the floor. Schroder looked uncomfortable spotting up, unlike Vincent. Don’t get me wrong, both players shot about 33 percent from 3, but with Miami, Vincent looked more comfortable in that role.
With the Lakers' two draft selections, they took Jalen Hood-Schifino with the 17th pick and Maxwell Lewis 40th. These two players aren’t expected to play a significant role this season but a lot of experts like the picks that the Lakers made. Hood-Schifino is a defensive wing that scouts praised for his improved pick-and-roll game. Then again, his weak 3-point shooting may keep him on the bench. Meanwhile, Maxwell Lewis is a shooter who still needs a lot of work to have a good NBA career.
The Lakers also took a gamble on two young players in Hayes and Reddish, signing both to veteran minimum deals. Hayes, the former eighth pick in 2019, provides youth and size as a backup to Davis, which the Lakers didn’t have last year. The Lakers' other centers and wings last year were shorter bigs that Jokic feasted on. Reddish, the 10th pick in 2019, is also another young 3-and-D wing to add to their rotation. The Lakers are taking a low-risk gamble on these two guys but it could pay off hugely in the end.
Overall, if I had to rate the Lakers' offseason, I’d rate it a 9/10. They did not make any home run swings like the Suns or the Warriors but they made moves that make sense. A team that already has LeBron and AD doesn’t need home runs which was evidenced by the acquisition and eventual departure of Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers also didn’t make moves that hurt them. I have to acknowledge that some might have preferred LA to add another superstar, such as Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, or Damian Lillard, or sign other free agents such as Kyrie Irving, Bruce Brown, and Brook Lopez, but the Lakers didn’t have to. They have a history of going for these big swings which can be hit or miss. With the uncertainty of LeBron’s future and Davis’ health, the team cannot afford to miss.
By going for smaller safer hits, the Lakers have made a successful offseason that not only gained the approval of numerous people but makes their outlook towards the upcoming season much brighter.
