The Los Angeles Lakers have only made one addition to their roster in free agency thus far, having signed Jake LaRavia on opening day. Former NBA star and Lakers fan Gilbert Arenas wasn’t a fan of that decision, though, and called out the team for signing LaRavia so early.
“Never in my life have I ever seen a bench player be signed so fast during free agency,” Arenas said. “So this is what we doing now, Lakers? Signing Jake from All-State. The nerve of this post saying ‘Breaking News.’
“Breaking news is if we sign [Jonathan] Kuminga, that’s breaking news,” Arenas stated. “If we sign [Deandre] Ayton, who just hit the market? Breaking news. If we stole Myles Turner from Indiana? Breaking news.
“N***** who averaged six points last year, that ain’t breaking news,” Arenas continued. You a damn fool. We could have gotten him the last day, right before training camp. You could had him try out. He averaged six points. We could have had him try the f*** out to see if he can make the team.
“You could have put the n**** with Bronny [James],” Arenas added. “Put him in the Summer League with Bronny, s*** he probably wouldn’t make that. God damn it.”
The Lakers signed LaRavia to a two-year, $12 million deal. The 23-year-old had averaged 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings in 2024-25.
LaRavia isn’t a game-changer, but he’s a pretty solid role player who will be in the rotation for the Lakers in 2024-25. For Arenas to suggest he might not even be good enough for the Summer League is a bit much, and Damian Lillard felt compelled to defend the youngster.
“He nice tho,” Lillard wrote.
Unlike Arenas, Lillard has faced off against LaRavia on the court. In their first-ever meeting on Oct. 31, 2024, LaRavia had 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He was a game-high +30, too, as the Grizzlies beat the Bucks 122-99.
As for why the Lakers signed LaRavia that soon, Lakers insider Dan Woike revealed he was their top wing target once it was clear that Dorian Finney-Smith was leaving for the Houston Rockets. He isn’t a like-for-like replacement for Finney-Smith, though.
LaRavia is a better offensive player, while Finney-Smith has a big edge on the defensive end. The former isn’t a bad defensive player, but he is not going to have the same kind of impact as the latter did for the Lakers. Will that come back to haunt the team? Well, time will tell.
There is also a chance that Lillard, who tore his ACL in the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, ends up teaming up with LaRavia on the Lakers. Not too long after he commented on Arenas’ post, a couple of shocking announcements were made.
The Milwaukee Bucks signed Myles Turner to a four-year, $113 million deal, but they had to waive Lillard to complete the transaction. The nine-time All-Star is now free to go wherever he wants.
According to The Athletic, the Lakers are interested in signing Lillard. There is competition for his services, though, as the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics are among the teams in the race to sign the veteran.
