The regular season hasn’t even started and the Los Angeles Lakers offseason mistakes are already looming large. Take the failed efforts to trade Russell Westbrook for example. While the front office is working hard to trade Westbrook, the fact talks are stalling because Rob Pelinka is so hung up on draft capital (giving and receiving) is infuriating.
Lo and behold, Westbrook is off to a brutal start in training camp and preseason. From air-balling wide-open threes in practice and showing very little effort on defense in the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Kings, it seems as though Pelinka’s stinginess and stubbornness is going to haunt LA until Russ is traded.
Of course, failing to trade Westbrook wasn’t the Lakers’ only mistake from the offseason. For every Pat Beverley trade, there was a Lonnie Walker signing. For every Thomas Bryant pickup, the Lakers puzzlingly added Troy Brown Jr. to their crowded backcourt rotation.
It’d be foolish to jump to conclusions about LA’s offseason during the preseason, but it feels like Pelinka and Co. whiffed by not signing Isaiah Hartenstein, who shot the lights out in his Knicks preseason debut on Tuesday.
Remind us, why did the Lakers sign Lonnie Walker to the mid-level exception over a stretch five like Hartenstein?
Isaiah mentioned he chose the Knicks because that’s where he felt most wanted.
— Lakers Legacy (@LakersLegacyPod) October 5, 2022
He’s currently a backup to Mitchell Robinson.
Lakers could have offered him a Starting Job, convenience of staying in LA, & the Full MLE (just $1.3m less than he’s making this year).
But nah… https://t.co/rePaQYzrpF
The Lakers are going to regret signing Lonnie Walker to the mid-level exception over Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Knicks rolled over the Pistons and Hartenstein played a key role off the bench. In 27 minutes, the seven-foot marksman totaled eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 on three-pointers, to go with seven rebounds and two steals. He finished with a +8, which trailed only Immanuel Quickley for the highest on New York’s second unit.
The Lakers have been pursuing Myles Turner seemingly all offseason. While Turner is twice the rim protector Hartenstein is, Turner’s 34.9% three-point percentage from last season pales in comparison to Hartenstein’s 46.7%.
Assuming Hartenstein has a bigger role in New York than he did with the Clippers, his efficiency on threes might regress to 39% or thereabouts, but his ability to stretch the floor would’ve been a perfect fit on this Lakers team. In a best-case scenario, Walker will develop into a capable wing defender and slasher.
"It's gonna be amazing. He's definitely a great passer…he's telling me...'always know I might pass it.' Having a big like that being able to pass out the post…stretch the floor, it's amazing. We've been working this whole summer"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 28, 2022
– Obi Toppin on new big Isaiah Hartenstein pic.twitter.com/j9KTjnjPLn
The Lakers have struggled with player development in recent years. Perhaps Darvin Ham and his staff are what Walker needs to take his game to the next level after he struggled to earn the trust of Gregg Popovich in San Antonio as a former first-round pick, but his fit on paper alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis is questionable at best.
Whatever happens with Walker, Hartenstein’s electric Knicks debut really has us wondering if the Lakers fumbled the bag by signing Walker to the mid-level exception over him. It’s not often you can heap praise on New York for their roster construction, but the fact they signed him to backup Mitchell Robinson is pretty embarrassing from a Lakers perspective given the team’s need for more shooting.
3 marksmen that could snag the final Lakers roster spot
There is one more spot on the Los Angeles Lakers roster for the team to fill and it could be filled by any one of these three marksmen.