The Los Angeles Lakers received a strong grade from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton for their offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers came into the offseason with a clear plan. This was the first offseason with the new front office in place and they stuck to their plan that they put together all the way back in February.
Just days before the NBA Trade Deadline, Jeannie Buss decided a change needed to be made within the organization. She decided it was time to part ways with longtime general manager Mitch Kupchak and Vice President of Basketball Operations, her brother, Jim Buss.
In their place, Jeannie started with an old face and all-time favorite. Magic Johnson was brought back as President of Basketball Operations. He ran the team during the trade deadline, setting the plan place.
Johnson made it clear that the Lakers wanted to give their younger players a real chance to play and unclog the future salary. Former super agent Rob Pelinka, who was later named the general manager, has continued to follow Johnson’s plan.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers were very active this offseason leading up to the 2017 NBA Draft. The Lakers owned two picks, No. 2 and No. 28, but they did not sit idly by.
Los Angeles would add another pick to their stable from the Brooklyn Nets. They acquired the No. 27 pick and Brook Lopez from the Nets in exchange for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov. That deal net the Lakers an additional pick in the draft and a stretch-5 that will help them improve their three-point shooting. The biggest takeaway was the salary relief gained from ridding themselves of Mozgov’s contract.
The Lakers were not done wheeling and dealing in the draft. They would trade the No. 28 pick to the Utah Jazz for No. 30 and No. 42. All in all, the Lakers ended up making four selections. They landed Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant.
The action leading up to and during the NBA Draft was where most of the Lakers player movement this offseason came from. With their eye towards free agency in 2018, the Lakers did not want to eat up any future cap space. As a result, they were trying to land players by offering one-year balloon contracts.
Essentially, the Lakers were offering more than market price, but for only one season. George Hill and Dion Waiters were two players they targeted with this strategy, but both signed long-term deals elsewhere.
Fans were getting anxious as the Lakers made no moves, but their strategy of waiting things out finally worked. The Lakers would eventually sign shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a one-year, $18 million deal. Caldwell-Pope’s agent, Rich Paul, called the Lakers to gauge their interest in his client, and it was a perfect match.
Caldwell-Pope fits a need for the Lakers. He will be the starting shooting guard and his skill set is much needed. Three-point shooting and defense are his biggest strengths; they happened to be the Lakers biggest weaknesses last season.
The backcourt is where the Lakers saw the most turn over. They have a new starting duo in Ball and Caldwell-Pope. Jordan Clarkson should fill in as the sixth man, while Tyler Ennis was re-signed to help mentor Ball and provide minutes as the backup point guard.
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While the Lakers eyes are on the offseason in 2018, they did very well this offseason as well. They stuck to their guns and it worked out. The roster looks much improved and they added much needed three-point shooting.
The Lakers had a very strong offseason and plenty of people are taking notice. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton graded all of the offseasons for the teams in the Western Conference, and the Lakers received one of the best grades.
Pelton gave the Lakers an A-, a very strong grade for a team operating with an eye toward the future. Here is what Pelton had to say about the Lakers offseason.
"The best part of the Lakers’ offseason is how it sets them up to be players in the summer of 2018. The Lakers used D’Angelo Russellas a carrot to get the Brooklyn Nets to take on the contract of Timofey Mozgov, clearing nearly $20 million in 2018 cap space. To preserve that room, the Lakers used this year’s space to sign shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a lucrative one-year deal.The Lakers will pair Caldwell-Pope in the backcourt with No. 2 pick Lonzo Ball, who lived up to the hype in Las Vegas. The Lakers also got great production from No. 27 pick Kyle Kuzma as they won the NBA Summer League championship."
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The Lakers offseason was definitely a strong one. They added a ton of young talent and could become big players during the offseason in 2018. With a little maneuvering, the Lakers could afford to sign two max players next offseason. That is something every team would like an opportunity to have.