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Lakers: Best and Worst of 2016

By Christian Rivas

April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) is hugged by team mates after scoring a basket against Utah Jazz during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) is hugged by team mates after scoring a basket against Utah Jazz during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) during their game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Lakers 113-80. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) during their game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Lakers 113-80. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

The worst: Giving Deng, Mozgov the big bucks in free agency

This past summer, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng to large four-year deals in free agency, which would have made a ton of sense four years ago.

Deng and Mozgov are both in their early 30s and are well past their prime. Even with Deng’s quarter season resurgence, his contract is still a lot of money for his production. Unless someone is enamored with him–ehem, Tom Thibodeau–his contract is going to be really hard to move in the coming years.

Mozgov has been exactly what everyone thought he was going to be. His lack of production was brushed under the rug because of how well the team was performing at the start of the season. Now 36 games into the season, and it’s clear the Lakers overpaid for the Russian big man. By a lot.

Mozzy’s box plus-minus is the second worst on the team at -5.5 and the sixth worst in the NBA among starting centers playing more than 20 minutes per game. His 8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game doesn’t scream “four years, $65 million” either.

If the Lakers can move both of their contracts this year, than that would be great, but I wouldn’t count on it. This is something they’re going to have see through and learn from.

Will they? Probably not.

The best: Locking up JC for his prime years

In the past, the Lakers have let young talent walk (Kent Bazemore, Ed Davis, etc.) to chase big name free agents, but this summer they did not have that luxury. They couldn’t even land meetings withe NBA’s A-List free agents. Unheard of in Los Angeles. However, they did have the luxury of having one of the more exciting young guards on the market already on their roster.

Jordan Clarkson had a surprisingly productive rookie season that earned him All-Rookie first team honors and another year with the Purple and Gold. He followed his rookie year with a solid sophomore season on a really bad team. He was going to get paid regardless this summer, but it was unclear who was going to pay him.

Luckily, Clarkson was a restricted free agent so they Lakers could have matched any offer they got for the young guard. But the two sides decided to care of business right away and JC signed a very reasonable four-year, $50 million contract.

Despite his “lack of production” this season, Clarkson is a crucial piece to the Lakers’ rebuild and is one of the original members of the Baby Lakers. At just 24 years old, Clarkson still has some of his best days ahead of him, and Los Angeles is lucky it is going to be with them.

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