The Los Angeles Lakers have made a lot of moves this offseason, but not everyone has been impressed by them. The Athletic’s John Hollinger spoke to NBA executives and staffers at the Las Vegas Summer League, and the Lakers’ contractual choices were a hot topic.
“In a summer where most role players, and even some starters, had to either take short deals or accept longer ones without full guarantees, the Lakers raised eyebrows by giving out fully guaranteed four-year deals with player options to three different players in free agency: Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Quentin Grimes,” Hollinger wrote. “They also gave a player option on Collin Sexton’s two-year deal for the room exception.”
The Lakers’ biggest free agency move was landing Walker Kessler via a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz. They got Kessler for two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps and gave him a four-year, $130 million deal.
Getting a quality center was crucial for the Lakers this summer, and they went all out for Kessler. They also needed a point-of-attack defender and got Quentin Grimes on a four-year, $60 million deal. Size and shooting were needed too, and the Lakers got Sandro Mamukelashvili on a four-year, $52 million deal.
Kessler, Grimes, and Mamukelashvili being given these sizeable deals with player options for the fourth year isn’t being viewed as very smart business. Collin Sexton got a player option, too, on his two-year, $19.2 million deal. The Sexton signing has also been termed a mistake by team insider Jovan Buha.
Now, these additions weren’t the only thing that NBA executives were surprised by. Trading Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two second-round picks was another.
“The trade of Deandre Ayton also raised eyebrows, as it generated just $2.1 million in extra cap room,” Hollinger continued. “While that money (about $1.4 million of it, technically) was needed to complete their free-agent deals on the terms that were agreed to, the wiggle room could have been created in other ways, such as by trading or stretching Dalton Knecht.”
Hollinger pointed out that the Lakers could have generated more room by adding “unlikely incentives” that do not count against the cap in Kessler and Grimes’ contracts. These would still be attainable, like a 60-game incentive for the former, as he has played 63 over the last two seasons.
“It seems quite possible the Lakers wanted Ayton gone anyway, so perhaps the cap shenanigans I mentioned above weren’t needed,” Hollinger wrote. “However, the loss of Ayton, in concert with a frothy backup-center market, also left the Lakers scraping the barrel in search of backup centers and ending up with Looney, who was all but unplayable for a 26-win Pelicans team last year. The Lakers are trying to assemble lob threats around Doncic’s pick-and-roll wizardry, but Looney had one dunk in 308 minutes last season.”
The Lakers got Kevon Looney on a one-year, $3.9 million veteran’s minimum deal, but Hollinger questions if he’s a good fit next to Luka Doncic. Looney thinks he fits well with Doncic, and time will tell.
The Lakers are also looking to make one more addition this offseason as they have been linked to Jonathan Kuminga and Matisse Thybulle. This roster is going to look very different compared to last season, and it will be interesting to see how they fare.
