The Los Angeles Lakers did a lot of spending this summer, and two of their more highly-priced acquisitions are facing early dissatisfaction from a portion of the fandom. That, of course, would be the players in today's headline: Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes.
Grimes received a four-year, $60 million deal from the Lakers this summer. Sexton got a two-year, $19.2 million contract of his own. They are two of Los Angeles' seven highest-paid players for the 2026-27 season. Grimes comes in at fourth, and Sexton is seventh.
Perhaps the success of veteran minimum signings like Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams has spoiled the satisfaction around the additions of the bigger-money free agents by contrast. Those two have been great from the jump. Grimes and Sexton, meanwhile, have not been surefire hits thus far.
It is a time like this that calls for keeping perspective. The 2026-27 season is only 11 games young. There is still plenty of basketball left to be played. Both Grimes and Sexton will have an opportunity to fix up the rougher patches of their start in Los Angeles.
Quentin Grimes needs time to find his shooting stroke for the Lakers
The main point of discontent for Grimes has been his poor shooting. The Lakers wing is only knocking down 24.2 percent of his 3.0 attempts per game from beyond the arc. That is also dragging down his overall percentage to 43.1 from the field.
There have been moments of Grimes just flat-out lacking assertiveness with his scoring, too. For someone who could have been poised for a breakout campaign in Los Angeles, 8.0 points per game does leave a good bit to be desired. Most of these things can be chalked up to early growing pains with a new role and offense.
The 2024-25 season remains the most successful of Grimes' career. It took some time before his 3-ball got going. That should offer a degree of comfort to watching his struggles so far in Los Angeles.
In the meantime, Grimes is still shining in other key departments. His defensive play has been strong to start the year. Opponents have an offensive rating of 112.1 with him on the court. That number moves to 120.0 with him off. That makes him more than playable while he figures out the offense.
Collin Sexton needs to bring more on both ends for the Lakers
Sexton has been uneven on both ends. The Lakers have both been better on offense and defense without the backup guard on the court.
Just like Grimes, Sexton has struggled with his shooting. The Lakers guard, remarkably, is hitting the exact same brutal percentage from deep as his teammate. In this case, neither one of them should want that mark of 24.2 percent on their triples.
Having Sexton's ball-handling is a must for the Lakers. Without it, the defensive pressure on their stars would only be ramped up further. The offensive struggles are a touch excusable for the veteran guard as he adjusts on the fly after missing all of preseason.
Defensively, Los Angeles also had to know what they signed up for with Sexton. The Lakers vet has been an underwhelming player on that end at each of his previous stops. That is something JJ Redick will need to scheme around.
Both players deserve a level of patience with their starts all the same. This is not a situation where the struggles are excused altogether. Giving them a larger sample size before eyeing up that trade machine is something Lakers fans should consider, though.
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