The Lakers are Winning Free Agency and it's not Even Close
All Lakers Free Agent Signings
The Los Angeles Lakers are the biggest winners in free agency among all 30 NBA teams, and it’s not particularly close. Although this may have been a weaker free agency class with not as many stars available as in other years, the Lakers are coming off a surprisingly successful season where they revamped their roster and saved it after the trade deadline. They ended up making an appearance in the Western Conference finals where they ultimately fell to the Denver Nuggets. However, this leads to the very first reason why the Lakers won free agency. The Denver Nuggets lost one of the most important players during their 2023 playoff run, Bruce Brown, to the Indiana Pacers in free agency. Denver also notably lost Thomas Bryant and Jeff Green, with Green getting significant minutes during the season and playoffs as well. Denver failed to add any significant pieces to make up for these losses, meaning that at the very least, the Nuggets, who enter next season as the defending champion and obvious team to beat in the West, got worse on paper.
One of the Lakers' first signings was a bit of a surprise, picking up Gabe Vincent of the Miami Heat. Vincent played a key role in Miami’s finals run in 2023, hitting many clutch shots and shooting great from three-point range throughout the playoffs. Vincent fits extremely well with the Lakers' hard-nosed, intense play style that emphasizes defense and effort. He signed with LA on a fair, team-friendly contract for three years for $33 million. This signing did unfortunately lead to letting Dennis Shroeder walk. But Toronto is paying him $13 million per year. Essentially, the Lakers picked up a younger point guard who has a similar play style and is younger than Shroeder. Contract-wise, it’s an upgrade.
The Lakers also re-signed their top two biggest priority free agents this offseason Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves. Hachimura signed for three years and $51 million while Reaves signed for four years and $56 million. They both proved to be key pieces that the Lakers would not have been able to make their deep playoff run without. But Reaves’s contract was especially a steal given his production post-Russell Westbrook trade. The Lakers consistently ran plays through REaves and he proved to be a reliable scorer and shooter who displays great effort on defense. Some reports had indicated that Reaves could fetch a much higher number than $56 million for four years, even as high or higher than $80 million. But they were able to retain Reaves on an extremely team-friendly deal and lock him up for the foreseeable future where he hopefully blossoms into the star Laker Nation believes he can become.
The Lakers also managed to retain D’Angelo Russell for two years and $37 million. Russell played a major role in the Lakers' late-season turnaround as well, shooting the ball very well from three-point range and providing the team with much-needed spacing and shooting they desperately needed. Although Russell struggled in the Western Conference finals, he did have several timely hot streaks in the first two rounds of the playoffs that got the Lakers multiple wins. Retaining Russell gives the Lakers another scoring option, outside shooting, and spacing for other guys to attack the paint.
Additionally, the Lakers also added key bench pieces to the roster on smaller contracts. They needed a three-and-D type of player off the bench and they got that in Taurean Prince. A backup center was also a key need which they covered by signing Jaxson Hayes. Hayes may not have lived up to his status as the eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft thus far, but his highlights speak for themselves and display his high potential. At just 23 years old and signing for just $4.6 million for two years, Hayes is a low-risk/high-reward addition that fits a roster need. The Lakers’ last signing was 23-year-old forward Cam Reddish who will provide depth off the bench and hopefully provide a scoring spark. Reddish also fits the bill of a young player on a small contract who has a high ceiling. Yet another low-risk/high-reward signing for a top-10 pick in the 2019 draft.
Overall, the Lakers have retained their most important free agents and improved their roster with other signings. They filled their most important needs and added value with small contracts for high-potential players. Between this and the Denver Nuggets’ roster taking a step back, the Lakers should not be squarely in continental for the Western Conference title and be competing for a championship next year, as long as they can stay healthy of course.
