The offseason grade the Los Angeles Lakers received from Bleacher Report was surprisingly low. Do you agree with their grade?
The Los Angeles Lakers had their eyes on the 2018 offseason for well over a year. Right from when Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka took over the front office, the plan was to clear cap space to give the team the flexibility and opportunity to land max level players. This offseason, those dreams became reality.
The Lakers made a big splash when they agreed to a four-year, $154 million deal with LeBron James. James was the crown jewel of the 2018 free agency class and gives Los Angeles the superstar they have been waiting for since Kobe Bryant retired.
The team did not stop after signing James. Last season’s shooting guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, was re-signed after a career season in his first in Los Angeles.
JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo and Michael Beasley followed. All four bring plenty of playoff experience to a roster lacking any. Johnson and Pelinka had a specific idea of the type of players they wanted to bring in, and those four fit the bill.
While the Lakers were happy with their offseason, not everyone thought it was great. Yes, landing James was great. However, the reviews were mixed, at best, for the signings that followed.
One outlet that wasn’t high on the moves was Bleacher Report. Grant Hughes gave the Lakers a surprisingly low grade of a C for their offseason moves.
Here is part of what Hughes said about his decision to give the Lakers the grade that he did.
"Landing LeBron James should have given the Los Angeles Lakers a surefire “A,” but virtually everything they did after adding the league’s best player dragged the overall mark down. Well, almost everything. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a fine signing at one year and $12 million.Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Michael Beasley—all non-spacing vets who come with baggage."
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Part of the reasoning for the grades was that Hughes doesn’t believe the Lakers should be insistent on waiting until 2019, when they could land another superstar. Hughes believes that the Lakers could be wasting James’ last dominant season as a stopgate of sorts in preparations for 2019-20.
While that may be true, too much stock is being put into the free agent signings. Out of everyone signed, only Caldwell-Pope and Rondo should play more than 20 minutes per game. McGee should be right around 15, while Stephenson and Beasley could have a difficult time finding consistent minutes.
The veterans weren’t signed to fill out the rotation. Instead, they were signed to fill in the roster around the youngsters. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma and Ivica Zubac will have prominent roles this upcoming season.
Those five, along with James, Caldwell-Pope, Rondo and McGee should receive a majority of the Lakers minutes. Rookies Moritz Wagner and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk should also get a chance to play.
As Hughes stated, the signing of James should have made the Lakers a shoe-in for an A grade. While the other signings may not have been as liked, it shouldn’t knock them down two letter grades.
The veterans were brought in to fit the vision of Johnson and Pelinka. Everything they have done as a duo has worked thus far, so they have earned the benefit of the doubt. The grade of a C seems a little low, as the Lakers roster has undoubtedly been upgraded this offseason.