Los Angeles Lakers receive (mostly) rave reviews on moves in free agency
It’s hard to believe, but training camp for the Los Angeles Lakers starts in just nine days. That said, the team’s roster is rounding into form as the opening weekend of free agency comes to a close.
The Lakers officially announced the signing of wingman Wesley Matthews on Sunday. And general manager Rob Pelinka still has to come to an agreement with a salary structure for big man Anthony Davis.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a former NBA front office executive, the Lakers currently have 10 players under contract. Marks says the signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has the Lakers pressed against the hard cap. He writes moving center JaVale McGee and his $4.5 million expiring contract would create some flexibility for the Lakers.
The Lakers received mostly good reviews for the team’s moves during free agency, which include a draft-day trade for Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Dennis Schröder, along with signing free agents Montrezl Harroll and Matthews, and bringing back Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Zach Harper of The Athletic says the Lakers had an amazing week in free agency.
Harper: “One of the few holes for the Lakers’ last season came from a lack of bench scoring. LeBron James would leave the floor and the offensive efficiency would sit right next to him on the bench. The Lakers were always just trying to survive without James in the game. How did Rob Pelinka fix that in the first week of the offseason? He traded for the Sixth Man of the Year and the runner-up to the Sixth Man of the Year. Acquiring Schröder and Harrell brings in 37.5 points per game from those two players. Now they’re unlikely to keep that production going with the Lakers, but that’s a lot of firepower they didn’t previously have. Losing the threat of Green hurts but Matthews is a worthy replacement. They probably need one more defensive big man to replace Howard’s departure for Philadelphia, but what an amazing week for the Lakers.
“Verdict: They are much better than before and it’s scary for the rest of the league. If you can’t hurt them when LeBron leaves the floor, when can you hurt them?”
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports gives Pelinka credit for not letting his pride get in the way of building a team around his top asset, LeBron James.
Goodwill: “Ego could’ve kept Pelinka from apparently surrendering to the best team-builder in the last decade, LeBron James, and making sure everyone knew the roster moves were his to cement his own standing in the league.
At James’ other stops, the men in charge used to bristle at the notion that the best player actually ran things, sometimes making moves without his blessing or even his outright wishes — perhaps out of resentment or traditional basketball norms.
But bringing in James comes with an unspoken covenant, so long as he’s near the top of the individual mountain. You deal with everything that comes with him, like it or not, and the rewards are usually worth the hassle if you understand the pecking order.”
Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated gives the Lakers an A grade for the signing of on Harrell and a B-minus for the re-signing of Caldwell-Pope.
Woo on Harrell agreement: “As the Lakers’ title run proved, it’s pretty easy to plug and play just about anyone alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and while Harrell has his shortcomings on the defensive end, L.A. wasn’t going to find a better player on the market at that price. When he shares the floor with Davis, his issues protecting the basket should be somewhat mitigated, and with JaVale McGee reportedly opting in to return, the Lakers will be able to rotate between smaller, uptempo looks that feature Harrell up front, as well as more defense-oriented lineups using McGee. As a rim-running, high-energy presence, Harrell is a far more dynamic offensive player than anyone the Lakers trotted out next to Davis up front last season, and they’re getting him at a bargain price.”
And Woo on Pope deal: “The Georgia product has good size and is a passable defender, and seemed to thrive off his role as the games got trickier. There’s no doubt he’ll be a key piece of whatever the Lakers do next, having added Harrell and Schröder to beef up the supporting cast. Time and again, we’ve seen that overpaying for role players’ playoff performance can lead to problems, and that there’s always regression. This deal puts Caldwell-Pope in a financial bracket with better players like Joe Ingles, J.J. Redick and Will Barton, and he’s probably not going to be L.A.’s third wheel at any point moving forward, nor will they want that.
ESPN senior writer Kevin Pelton writes that while the Lakers upgraded their scoring off the bench with the second unit, he questions their starting and finishing lineups assembled for a deep playoff run.
Pelton: “With Caldwell-Pope back, the Lakers will have to keep 14 players on their roster to start the season instead of the maximum 15 -- not counting up to two on two-way contracts -- and can’t fill out the roster with any player making more than the veteran’s minimum.
By agreeing to sign Matthews for the $3.6 million biannual exception, the Lakers presumably replaced (Danny) Green in the starting lineup, although Alex Caruso might also bid for a starting spot. Matthews is a similar 3-and-D role player, albeit not as accomplished defensively as Green and a less accurate 3-point shooter historically (38% career beyond the arc to 40% for Green).
There are also questions about how the Lakers start and finish games at center. JaVale McGee started all 68 games he played during the regular season and the first eight of the playoffs but scarcely saw the court after he was replaced by Howard during the Western Conference finals. McGee did not play at all in the NBA Finals.
