How The Lakers New Additions Instantly Improve The Team
The Los Angeles Lakers, for the fourth straight year, must look to rebuild their roster with brand new pieces to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis. A quick recap of how that has previously gone: the 2020 team ended with a championship, the 2021 team was a first-round exit due to injuries, and the 2022 team…well, they went 33-49 and missed the play-in tournament. The mix of their two star players missing a combined 62 games, poor roster construction, and the Russell Westbrook experiment not going as planned in Year One are all reasons why last season's team fell extremely short of where they believed they would be prior to the season starting.
Now, the Lakers have looked to turn it around and made multiple signings in free agency with what they could work with. These signings include Lonnie Walker IV (23 years old), Damian Jones (27), Juan Toscano-Anderson (29), Troy Brown Jr. (22), and Thomas Bryant (24). They have also placed rookies Max Christie, Scotty Pippen Jr., and Cole Swider on two-way contracts. I included the age next to each signing because if you compare that to last year, the Lakers have obviously prioritized younger players. Last offseason, every signing besides standout Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn, who didn’t play a single game due to injury, was well over 30. No player in the Lakers' rotation last season besides Monk and Deandre Jordan has signed with a team this offseason.
So how do these signings instantly improve the team? First, a youth movement was necessary for Los Angeles, and adding these signings to a roster that already has second-year player Austin Reaves (24), Stanley Johnson (25), Wenyen Gabriel (24), and Nunn (26). The acquisitions immediately make this year's Lakers team one of the league's youngest and most athletic teams. Many people also forget Davis is only 28 years old, which makes Westbrook (33) and James (37) the oldest players on the roster.
Replacing Dwight Howard and Deandre Jordan with young, athletic bigs that can also shoot in Jones and Bryant will benefit Davis more, allowing him to play the four (Power Forward) where he’s more comfortable. It also opens up the floor for Westbrook and James, who benefit from the space. In addition, Walker IV, Toscano-Anderson, and Brown Jr. can help the Lakers defensively, being able to guard multiple positions. Although their three-point percentages aren’t high, all three will benefit from getting open looks consistently.
Ultimately, it’s obvious the Lakers are taking a different approach this time, trying to make the most of James’ tenure with the team since he has yet to sign an extension. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka also commented at the Las Vegas Summer League that they aren’t done making moves. With the Kyrie Irving rumors being the elephant in the room, this roster can still look a bit different once training camp and next season roll around, but for now, the Lakers have made their moves working with what they could, and only time will tell whether they will be enough to make a push.
