Los Angeles Lakers: How have Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka done so far?

With their first full offseason in books, how have Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka done so far for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Since they were hired in February to head up basketball operations, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have significantly re-shaped the Los Angeles Lakers roster, keeping only six of the 15 players they inherited: youngsters Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr, Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac, and veteran Luol Deng.

Starting with a couple of trades just before the deadline, moving forward with a blockbuster pre-draft trade, and continuing with the draft and free agency, here’s how they rebuilt the team:

• Before Pelinka was even hired, Johnson traded leading scorer Lou Williams to Houston for veteran Cory Brewer and the Rockets’ first-round pick.                                                            Brewer is entering the final year of his contract and is not expected to have much impact on the team. The Lakers traded that pick to the Utah Jazz and eventually used the two picks they received on Josh Hart and Thomas Bryant.
• The Lakers then traded seldom-used  Marcelo Huertas for young point guard Tyler Ennis. Huertas is no longer in the NBA. Ennis performed well at the end of the season and was just re-signed to fill the back-up point guard role.
• At season’s end, Metta World Peace said he was told he would not be asked back for the 2017-18 season.                                                                                                         The fan favorite’s primary role was imparting knowledge to the younger players. On the court he was a shadow of his former self.
• Just before the draft, the team made a surprising trade, sending starting guard D’Angelo Russell, the number two pick in the draft just two years earlier, and center Timofey Mozgov to the Nets for center Brook Lopez, one of the league’s best offensive centers, plus the #27 pick in the draft. The trade was somewhat risky as Russell could still develop into an All-Star. Lopez, who may lead the Lakers in scoring this season, is in the final year of his contract, and nobody knows whether he might be re-signed next year. But by shedding the final years of Mozgov’s bloated contract, the front office created cap room to court a free agent or even two in July 2018.
• To almost nobody’s surprise, the team selected point guard Lonzo Ball with the #2 pick in the draft. Ball starred in the Summer League and garnered MVP honors. Both Magic and Pelinka have effusively praised his pass-first mentality and leadership, and fans are hoping that he will become the Lakers best point guard since a guy named Magic Johnson controlled the game in the Showtime era.
• Nick Young declined to exercise his option and signed as a free agent with the Warriors, while the team waived two other players, Tarik Black and David Nwaba.                         Young’s shooting and scoring will be missed, but it was time for the team to turn elsewhere. Black is an energetic, undersized center whose effort could never be questioned, but he’s offensively limited. With the addition of Lopez and Bryant, there was little need for him on the roster. Nwaba, a late-season call-up from the D League, impressed the team with his hustle and defense, but fell victim to the need to clear salary room
• Guard Alex Caruso was signed to the new ‘two-way’ contract.                                              Caruso was rewarded for his impressive summer season. The plan is for him to spend most of his time playing for the G-League South Bay Lakers.
• In their only free agent signing to date, the Lakers added guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a one-year deal.                                                                                                                                            KCP, a strong defender and an opportunistic scorer, should nicely complement Ball in the new-look L.A. backcourt. A 4-year veteran, KCP provides toughness and experience to a young team.

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So how did Magic and Rob do? Should we expect to see significant on-court improvement? Did they lay the groundwork for an eventual return to prominence?

First, the Lakers will be a very young team this season. Their roster contains nine ‘Baby Lakers’ with three or fewer years of experience, including four rookies. A youthful team is unpredictable. They will likely steal wins from teams they’re not supposed to beat, but also blow games that they appear to have won.

Second, the team still seems to have the type of depth preferred by Luke Walton, who used a 10-man rotation when he had enough healthy bodies last year. This coming season, the starters will likely be Ball, KCP, Ingram, Randle and Lopez with Clarkson and Nance probably first off the bench. The other three reserves will likely be Kuzma, Zubac and either Ennis or Hart.

The team features two proven veterans, Lopez and KCP, two exciting rookies and at least four other youngsters on the rise. The Lakers should be more competitive, and if things break just right, they could conceivably contend for a playoff spot, even in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.

Los Angeles Lakers

It’s always difficult to look further ahead. By sticking to its guns and refusing to trade Ingram and/or the #2 pick for star Paul George or anyone else, the front office signaled that they are not looking for a quick fix. By building a core of strong young players, they are following the model used by the Warriors,  who first built a competitor through the draft (Curry, Thompson, Green and Barnes), supplemented the youngsters with solid veterans (Iguodola, Livingston and Bogut) and later on added a top free agent (Durant).

Johnson and Pelinka have openly talked about using the young core to attract free agents next summer. Fans are salivating about the possibility of signing George, who expressed interest in joining the Lakers before being traded to OKC, and either Russell Westbrook or Lebron James.

It remains to be seen whether they actually do sign any star free agent in 2018. But tough decisions will need to be made. The contracts of three veterans, KCP, Lopez and Brewer, expire in a year. Also, Randle’s rookie deal is up after this season, & he’ll be eligible for a significant raise. The front office could opt to use its resources to re-sign some combination of KCP, Lopez, or Randle, either in conjunction with or instead of signing free agents.

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There is plenty of time for us to speculate about what the team should do 11 months from now. At present, it certainly seems like the Lakers are headed in the right direction, and Johnson and Pelinka should be commended for giving fans good reasons to be excited.