Lakers News: Insider Points Out Major Flaw in LA's Big Offseason Bet
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Rob Pelinka deserves plenty of critiques for how he's handled the Lakers roster over the last several seasons. Trading for Russell Westbrook at LeBron James and Anthony Davis' bequest is the headliner, but letting Alex Caruso walk, in conjunction with overpaying for Talen Horton-Tucker, and signing a slew of over-the-hill veterans last summer is just the tip of the Pelinka roster management iceberg. That being said, he does deserve some credit for making a concerted effort to sign significantly younger players in free agency this summer.
Pelinka and the Lakers had just one taxpayer mid-level exception to hand out this past July, and the team spent it on former Spurs first-round pick Lonnie Walker IV. The 23-year-old posted a career-high scoring average this past season (12.1 PPG), but his shooting numbers are a bit concerning.
ESPN's Kevin Pelton noted that the Lakers deserve some roses for bringing in youth, but the insider isn't high on Walker's shooting ability.
"On the downside, the Lakers didn't add a single reliable two-way contributor to fill their biggest need. The Lakers used their taxpayer midlevel to add Lonnie Walker IV, who shot just 31% from 3-point range last season (34% for his career)."
LeBron James teams are at their best when the team has multiple quality shooters and at the moment, the roster is lacking in that regard. To Pelton's point, Walker isn't known as a defensive dynamo.
Pelton highlighted the fact that even if Walker makes a Malik-Monk-esque leap in purple and gold this coming year, it's unlikely the team will be able to re-sign the guard.
"And even if Walker takes a step forward, as with Malik Monk, the Lakers may be hard-pressed to keep him beyond this season using non-Bird rights."
If the Lakers had Walker's bird rights, the team could go over the cap next summer in order to retain him.
Walker is one of the Lakers big bets, and it's a wager that might not pay off.
