Patience matters a ton in free agency. Less than 24 hours ago, there was a lot of discontent with the slow start to the Los Angeles Lakers offseason. It turns out they were just waiting on their first major domino to drop before announcing all the rest.
The Lakers landed their center of the future when they secured a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz to bring Walker Kessler to Los Angeles. As soon as that happened, the floodgates opened with not one, not two, but three confirmed signings announced by Shams Charania.
Two of them were telegraphed by Marc Stein and Jake Fischer. The pair of NBA insiders reported the deals for Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili were pretty much done, but had yet to be announced. As soon as Kessler was done, those came through the wire immediately after.
The one move no one really saw coming was Collin Sexton. Charania reported the veteran guard was joining the Lakers on a two-year, $19 million deal that included a player option in the second season. Just like that, there is a much clearer picture of what the beginning to the Luka Doncic era will look like.
Lakers have laid the foundation for the roster overhaul around Luka Doncic
All the money the Lakers had in their pockets had to go somewhere. Los Angeles flexed that spending power beyond any doubt.
So, what about the overall haul? Is it good? The initial takeaway here would be that a solid foundation has been laid, but there is still more work to be done.
As things stand, the Lakers continue to have a big glaring hole at the starting power forward position. Mamukelashvili could theoretically slot into that spot, but Los Angeles should dream bigger. Mamu would be better off used as a backup big man off the bench.
NBA cap guru Yossi Gozlan explained: "The Lakers can take back up to $9.1 million in salaries for a combination of their role players under contract like Deandre Ayton, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, & Dalton Knecht. This is their best path to getting a wing."
Gozlan did add that without draft capital, it will be harder for the Lakers to execute that task. However, it should not be ruled out as impossible.
Kessler, Grimes, Mamukelashvili, and Sexton give the Lakers a lot of good momentum to start with. This is not the time for them to get complacent, though.
The Lakers are off to a strong start. This should not be where the job ends for Rob Pelinka. It is time to push and squeeze to keep adding to what has been done.
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