While most of the league was chattering about LeBron James’
move back home to Cleveland the Lakers got to work piecing together their
roster for next season. For the past few
weeks Mitch Kupchak has been hesitant to make any moves in fear of using up cap
space that was being reserved for Carmelo Anthony. Upon hearing that Melo would be signing
elsewhere the trigger was pulled on Plan B, resulting in a flurry of moves. Unfortunately Plan B didn’t’ quite have the
sizzle that Laker fans were hoping for.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the moves that the Lakers made
and a letter grade for each:
Jeremy Lin/Houston’s
2015 1st rounder- As soon as the Lakers got word that Anthony
would not be wearing the purple and gold next season they executed a trade to
land point guard Jeremy Lin and a 2015 first round pick from the Houston
Rockets. The deal nets the Lakers a
starting-quality point guard, which fills a need thanks to the inconsistencies
of Steve Nash and Kendall Marshall.
While Lin is a few years removed from his “Linsanity” days he can still
produce on the court and should give the Lakers another offensive weapon. Additionally his contract is a plus, as it
expires after next season which will allow the Lakers to preserve cap space to
chase after superstars once again next year.
Houston’s first round pick is also a nice addition as the
Lakers lost their own 2015 first in the Steve Nash trade. The Rockets made the trade hoping to sign
Chris Bosh, who appeared to be unlikely to return to Miami following the
departure of LeBron. Bosh, however,
shocked everyone by choosing to accept Miami’s max contract offer and leave
Houston out to dry. Bosh electing not to
team up with James Harden and Dwight Howard in Houston certainly adds a little
more luster to the Lin deal for Laker fans, as no one wants to see Dwight on a
contending team following his defection from the Lakers last year.
Overall it was a good deal for the Lakers but isn’t the type
of home-run move that fans were hoping for.
Still, getting a solid starter and a first round pick for essentially just
cap space is a phenomenal haul, and Lin’s expiring contract could prove to be
valuable at the trade deadline.
Grade: A
Nick Young-
Swaggy P was a fan favorite last season for the Lakers and was high on the list
of players Mitch Kupchak wanted to sign this summer. Young has expressed his desire to remain in
LA from the moment he landed in purple and gold so it seemed that a deal was
only a matter of time before a deal was struck.
Eventually Young and the Lakers came to an agreement on a 4 year,$21.5
million deal with a player option for the 4th year.
While Young is a bit one-dimensional there are few better scorers
off the bench than he is, and instant offense from the bench can be very
valuable in today’s NBA. He is able to
create his own shot when the offense stagnates and showed some ability to take
(and make) difficult shots with the clock winding down. His constant ear-to-ear smile is indicative
of just how much he loves being a Laker, and that’s something that the Lakers
surprisingly need.
The only gripe I have about Young’s deal is that it ideally
would have been a 2 year deal rather than 4 in order to preserve cap space
after Kobe’s contract is up, and of course player options are never a good
thing for the team. However we have seen
players like Jodie Meeks and Avery Bradley get much larger deals that Young did
so he may end up being something of a bargain even with the extra years.
Grade: B+
Jordan Hill: With
Carmelo not joining the Lakers it became a certainty that veteran big man Pau
Gasol would be on his way out as well.
Gasol was hoping for an opportunity to win, and without another
superstar to join him and Kobe it was clear that the Lakers couldn’t provide
that. Thanks to Pau’s impending
departure the Lakers had a hole at center to fill and moved quickly to lock down
their own free agent, Jordan Hill, to a 2-year, $18 million deal that initially
left Laker fans shaking their heads.
While Hill has always had the support of the fan base thanks
to his energy and hustle there was no one expecting him to earn a contract quite
that rich, especially since it ate up much of the Lakers remaining cap space
and effectively ended their chances of landing any other impact free agents.
It was later revealed that the deal is a team option for the
second year, which makes a lot of sense.
The Lakers offered Hill more money next year than he was worth in
exchange for getting the option to waive his contract next summer if they need
cap space. This also should effectively motivate
Hill all season, as he’s been known to have lapses of concentration on
defense. If he wants to receive the full
$18 million of the contract he will have to step his game up next year.
To his credit Hill did put up 16.6 points, 1.8 blocks, and
10.1 rebounds as a starting center last year, albeit in a small sample size of
8 games. Still, if he can come anywhere
close to those numbers next year he will be worth his contract. Laker fans also have to be excited about
seeing Hill’s voracious rebounding combine with Julius Randle’s own aggressiveness
on the boards. With those two controlling
the glass rebounding should be one of the few advantages that next year’s
Lakers will have over their opponents.
Overall Hill’s deal is something of a disappointment because
it means that the Lakers will essentially be bringing back last year’s squad
with only a few additions (Randle, Clarkson, and Lin) and subtractions (Gasol,
Jodie Meeks, Jordan Farmar, and Kent Bazemore). The
opportunity to land someone else on the free agent market, like Kings point
guard and life-long Laker fan Isaiah Thomas, would have brought a little more
excitement to the weary fan base. The
fact that the deal has a team option on the second year saves it from being a
massive mistake.
Grade: D+
With these moves the Lakers have a lineup that looks
like this:
PG: Lin, Marshall, Nash (when healthy…so just pretend he isn’t
there)
SG: Kobe Bryant, Jordan Clarkson
SF: Young
PF: Randle
C: Hill, Robert Sacre
That leaves the team with as many as 6 roster spots available
to reach the maximum 15, although they can carry as few as 12. The Lakers will likely bring back forward
Ryan Kelly and guard-forward Xavier Henry to help round out the roster. After that there may be an opportunity for
one or two of the guys on their summer league roster or preseason squad to play
their way on to the team.
While Mitch’s job isn’t over the Lakers roster is finally
starting to round into shape.
Unfortunately it’s looking frighteningly similar to last season’s nightmare
lineup. Hopefully a new coach (most
likely Byron Scott) can get better results from this group than Mike D’Antoni
did. It will take a lot for the Lakers
to turn in a winning season, but if there is one thing that the offseason has
in abundance for every team it’s hope.
Buckle up Laker fans, it’s going to be another bumpy season,
but at some point the Lakers will return to prominence. They simply won’t allow themselves to be held
down for long.
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for more Lakers news @16ringsNBA
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