"We feel great about that"- LA Lakers' front office electrified by spectacular offseason additions to LeBron James and Co.
Rob Pelinka and the LA Lakers front office evidently won the offseason with their new additions this summer alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers have achieved nearly all of their offseason goals. They added more size and shooting at every position.
Gabe Vincent was a marginal upgrade over Dennis Schroder, signed to a tradeable $33 million three-year deal, am Taurean Prince arrived on a team-friendly one-year $4.5 million contract. Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish signed on minimum contracts.
The LA Lakers also retained their best free agents, Austin Reaves (four years, $58 million), Rui Hachimura (three years, $51 million) and D'Angelo Russell (two years, $36 million) on discount deals. Meanwhile, they also acquired their draft targets Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis with their 17th and 40th selections. The Lakers have managed to stay $2.5 million under the luxury tax bill while improving their roster.
Spotrac's Keith Smith interacted with a Lakers' personnel at the summer league, who described the team's offseason as a success saying:
"Getting Austin Reaves signed was our top priority. Was there a worry we’d have to match an offer sheet? Absolutely. He’s a good player and he could fit on any team. But we were prepared to match any kind of offers Austin got. We weren’t going to lose him over money."
He added:
“We’re very happy with how our offseason went. We added a point guard, a forward, a wing and a big man. The two players we drafted (Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis) are guys we targeted in our draft range. And we re-signed all of our important contributors. We feel great about that.”
The LA Lakers didn't succumb to the pressure of splashing their assets on another big-name addition. They opted for continuity and internal development over that, which has proved to be the crucial ingredient for championship-winning teams over the last few seasons.
LA Lakers are positioned well for another deep playoff run following a solid offseason
The LA Lakers seemed to have learned from their mistake in 2021 when they acquired Russell Westbrook, giving up their salary cap flexibility and compromising on roster fit, which led to their downfall.
However, they revived their playoff hopes by adding pieces that fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis at the trade deadline. LA turned their season around from that point on. They were five games under the .500 mark but finished seventh in the standings, registering the best record in the West since the deadline.
The Lakers making consecutive conference finals seem realistic, and their chances of prevailing to the finals have improved. They have the luxury to make more upgrades if needed at the deadline with quality tradeable contracts on their roster.
Click here to read Keith Smith's report.