Ranking each Lakers free agency signing by impact next season

1. Lonnie Walker IV

Lonnie Walker IV is going to be the most impactful free agent that the Los Angeles Lakers signed this offseason simply because he has to be. The Lakers had one non-minimum contract that they could give out and they opted to give it to Walker, paying him $6.4 million on the Taxpayer MLE.

Personally, I do not love Walker’s fit and there is a chance that this blows up in the Lakers’ face. Walker has not been a good three-point shooter in his NBA career thus far and he has not been a good defender, either.

While Walker has committed to playing better defense in LA, there is a chance that he cannot do the two main things that the Lakers need a role-playing guard to do next to LeBron James. That is scary.

Whether that happens or not he will still be the most impactful. The Lakers are going to try and force Walker to work so he is not going to get booted out of the rotation with a few bad games. He is going to get all the chances in the world.

So either he shows up as a new player next season and brings something to the table that the Lakers did not previously have, or, he disappoints, leaving a big hole in the rotation and having an impact for negative reasons.

4 former Lakers who could explode on new teams in 2022-23

The Los Angeles Lakers have had so much roster turnover in recent years. These former Lakers are on new teams next season and will thrive.

Whether good or bad, Lonnie Walker IV is going to be the most impactful free agent the Lakers signed this summer.