The Los Angeles Lakers have had a pretty slow offseason thus far as the calm before the potential storm. Los Angeles might be trading for Kyrie Irving and the team just needs the Brooklyn Nets to find a trade for Kevin Durant so they are more motivated to then flip Kyrie.
While the big trade ultimately has not happened yet, the Lakers have still brought in new talent this offseason. Rob Pelinka and co. signed a total of five free agents this summer, all of which are under 30 and three of which are under 25.
Last summer’s free-agent signings ended up being terrible for the team and the hope is that this year can be better. But which of the free agents are primed to flip the script and be impactful next season?
Let’s rank the five Lakers free agency signings by potential impact next season:
5. Troy Brown Jr.
Troy Brown Jr. was taken with the 15th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and he has not really done much in his NBA career to this point. Brown is already on his third team in the league and while he had a promising sophomore season, his last two years have left more to be desired.
Brown has averaged just 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 15.8 minutes per game. He has not shot the three particularly great, either, as he is shooting just 34% from beyond the arc in the last two seasons combined.
It is clear that Brown was signed to be a young, back-of-the-rotation player that could potentially unlock some potentially but most likely won’t. While he is not that exciting, it is better than using this roster spot on someone who is 35, as Brown could at least shock some people, whereas a 35-year-old veteran is typically shocking for the wrong reasons.
Brown has at least shown some defensive promise, so he has that going for him. But at the end of the day, he was ultimately brought in because he is a Klutch client.
4. Damian Jones
This is not Damian Jones’ first stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. Most fans likely recall that Jones spent some time with the team during the 2020-21 season after signing some 10-day contracts. Jones ended up playing just eight games with the Lakers and actually played quite well.
It was nothing that was revolutionary, but he did play well enough to earn himself a roster spot with the team. That ultimately did not happen, though, as Jones signed with the Sacramento Kings and spent last season there as well.
While Jones may have surprised some people as a 10-day contract signing two seasons ago, we should not let that overvalue what he brings to the table this upcoming season. Jones is the team’s backup center and he likely is not going to get big playing time.
There are two telling signs as to why that is the case. First is the simple fact that the team has Anthony Davis, who is going to play a lot of minutes in the front court. Sure, he might not be a traditional five, but having Davis is going to naturally take away minutes from the backup five.
The second is that the team is reportedly interested in Myles Turner, who would slot in as the starting center. This indicates that the team does not view the center position as complete and that, at the end of the day, Jones is a depth guy more than anything else.
And that is fine! There is nothing wrong with that. Jones averaged 18.2 minutes per game last season and on the Lakers, I would project him to get around 15.
4. Juan Toscano-Anderson
There were several free agents last season that the Los Angeles Lakers should have signed that went to the Golden State Warriors. I will never get over the Lakers missing a very obvious great fit in Otto Porter, but it is what it is.
Instead, the Lakers ended up with two rotation players from the Warriors that ended up playing poorly. Kent Bazemore came over and stunk his way out of the rotation quickly while Avery Bradley was a preseason addition who eventually (thankfully) was played out of the rotation.
Hopefully, the same fate does not strike the Lakers a third time with Juan Toscano-Anderson, who is coming off of a championship season with the Warriors. There is not much to get excited about with Anderson, so don’t expect him to completely flip the switch.
Toscano-Anderson did not have a big role in last season’s team as he averaged just 13.6 minutes during the regular season and 3.5 minutes in the playoffs. He was not very good in his limited time on the court last season as his three-point percentage plummeted to 32.2%.
The one good thing about Toscano-Anderson is that he can play sound defense, so he is going to carve out a role in the rotation in some capacity. If he can turn his three-point shot around and shoot 40.2% from three like he did the following season, he could be a much more impactful role player.
Right now, he checks in third with the potential to grow even higher. That being said, the baseline impact still is not very high.
2. Thomas Bryant
I went back and forth several times between the no. 2 and no. 1 player on this list and while Thomas Bryant is a very solid basketball player, he ends up at no. 2. In fact, I would argue that Bryant is the most talented player that the Lakers signed this offseason. So why is he not the most impactful?
A big part of the reason is simply how the game is played today. Centers are the least important players on the court and while Bryant can help space the floor some with a solid jumper, there is only so much he can impact on a game-to-game basis.
Combine that with the fact that the no. 1 player on this list simply has to be the most impactful based on how the Lakers handled the offseason. Even if it is in a negative light, the no. 1 player will have the biggest impact on the team.
Plus, if the Lakers trade for Turner then Bryant’s playing time will obviously go down as he would go from the starting five to the backup five. It is hard to make the backup five the most impactful player on this list.
All that being said, Bryant is a really solid basketball player and he is going to turn heads this season as long as he can stay healthy. He should have never been traded from the Lakers in the first place after he dominated the G League and now he is back home where he can prove his worth.
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.