The Los Angeles Lakers not only retained Austin Reaves to pair with Luka Doncic, but they reinforced the roster by adding big man Walker Kessler, stretch forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, and dynamic guard Quentin Grimes. Not everyone, however, is as excited for these acquisitions as Lakers fans will be.
FanSided.com's list of the 10 worst contracts in free agency to this point has two Lakers on that list in Kessler at No. 1 overall and Grimes at No. 6, respectively. The Lakers, who had as much money to spend as any contender, are the only team in the NBA to have two different players from this most recent offseason on this list.
The Lakers should be commended for their supercharging of the bench, but there are also plenty of pitfalls that are inherent with giving so many lucrative contracts to players with very clear and obvious holes in their game.
Lakers' 2026 offseason signings ranked among 10 worst
Grimes' inclusion on the list is more debatable than Kessler's nomination. While it could be argued that paying $15 million per season to a bench player who took a step back as a shooter and was a non-factor in the playoffs is concerning, Grimes' microwave offense should give this offense a jolt in a way past reserve players failed to.
Even if Kessler ends up being the rim protector the Lakers have needed for so long, paying him over $30 million per season and trading what they did to acquire him is a hefty investment. Kessler is fresh off only playing five games last season, and his offensive game is still not developed enough to fully justify paying him that type of money.
While Rob Pelinka did make some moves around the margins by adding wing defenders like Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle on cheap one-year deals, Los Angeles is going to start three huge defensive negatives in Doncic, Reaves, and Mamukelashvili. Kessler will be asked to make up for all of their defensive deficiencies.
Pelinka and the Lakers are walking a major tightrope act with these free agent signings. While he opted for the strategy of signing a group of lesser players with the money that would have been allocated to LeBron James, not every one of these million-dollar additions is going to be a perfect fit next to Doncic. It won't be Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng-level bad spending, but it's not ideal.
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