The new team around LeBron James is a bit strange at first sight. But the Los Angeles Lakers are pursuing a very clear goal – and thanks to the signature of LeBron they are well positioned for years to come.
Magic Johnson’s promises have come true. The President of the Lakers had already announced when he took office in February 2017 that the big stars would soon be back in Purple and Gold. Kobe Bryant’s era was already over when D’Angelo Russell wanted to be a franchise star and could not be satisfied. The Lakers were looking for another caliber. Until now.
On July 1st, the first day of the Free Agency, LeBron James announced through his agent Rich Paul that he would join the Los Angeles Lakers. The cheers of the Lakers fans were accordingly great, especially when LBJ finally officially signed a four-year contract for 153.3 million dollars.
This marked the beginning of a major upheaval in LaLa-Land. Julius Randle, Isaiah Thomas and Brook Lopez were some of last year’s top performers who left the team. In addition, L.A. separated from Luol Deng, who was bought out of his two-year contract for 29 million dollars.
The Lakers mainly obliged veterans to do this, who were presented with contracts with only short terms. Rajon Rondo (1 year/9 million), Lance Stephenson (1 year/4.5 million), Michael Beasley (1 year/3.5 million) and JaVale McGee (1 year/2.4 million) joined the Lakers and LeBron. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – by the way also a client of Klutch Sports – they agreed on an extension for 1 year and 12 million dollars.
The draft evening was also particularly interesting from a German point of view. With their first-round pick, the franchise from the city of the angels Moritz Wagner chose Wagner in 25th position. A little later Magic and Co. ploughed the second German in the draft to the west coast: Isaac Bonga (No. 39). But the Point Guard will probably find himself in the D-League at the start of the season. In addition, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk in position 47 could have a direct chance on minutes with his throw.
In contrast to the One-plus-One contracts (or Two-plus-One) with which LeBron put the Cavaliers under torture year after year, the King gave the Front Office of the Lakers long-term planning security. With the four-year contract (player option for last year) LeBron makes it clear that he sees his future in Hollywood. It couldn’t have gone better for the Lakers.
This planning certainty allowed Johnson and General Manager Rob Pelinka to take a path that might not necessarily make the Warriors sweat in the short term, but could make them sweat in the long term.
After Free Agent Paul George decided to stay in Oklahoma City and not move to L.A., it was difficult to put a big name on LeBron’s side this summer. This is expected to change in 2019.
The focus of the franchise is undoubtedly on the next off-season, when Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and Jimmy Butler will throw their names into the free agency pond. Due to the numerous one-year contracts that have been agreed in recent months, the Lakers have a lot of room for manoeuvre under the salary cap in the coming summer with around 40 million dollars – that’s a good start.
However, the quality of the current management team had to suffer in favour of long-term flexibility. The newcomers around Rondo, McGee and Stephenson present a colourful mix of talented but somehow failed (and then revived) veterans. After all, the Lakers should be at the top of the association when it comes to the comedy factor.
What the team lacks first and foremost, however, is shooting. The basic kit for a GM who wants to build a functioning team around the 33 year old LeBron actually prescribes a simple wisdom: You can never have too many shooters. It seems, however, that the Lakers have taken a completely different direction with their new commitments.
Lonzo Ball worked on his throwing movement in the summer, but the results have yet to be seen. The weaknesses of Rondo or Stephenson in the shooting are well known. So how’s the spacing supposed to work at the Lakers?
After all: Wagner should fit perfectly into the LeBron system with his style of playing as an unerring Big Man. As soon as he has well cured his current knee problems, he could already take on an important backup role in his rookie season.
The mere presence of James has catapulted the Lakers from a team from the lower third of the Western Conference to a seemingly safe playoff candidate. The tradition-rich franchise concluded the past season with a record of 35 victories and 47 defeats. It won’t happen again anytime soon.
The King has proven in the past that he is able to lead even less talented teams to a deep playoff run. The best example of this was their entry into the 2017/18 Cavs finals, but in the long run one of the best players of all time needs support.
Magic and Co. hope that Brandon Ingram will take a further step before the Lakers strike hard next summer. The 21-year-old has undergone strong development in recent years and should ideally grow into a star alongside James.
Ball has a similar potential. In the preseason, the Point Guard has not yet been used due to persistent knee problems, possibly it will first take a seat behind Rondo as a backup Point Guard on the bench. But the future of Lakers on the One is to belong to him.
The offseason of the Lakers can be judged as a resounding success by fans and responsible persons just because of the signature of James. This means that the next franchise star has been found for at least the next three years, at the same time L.A. can be patient in the hunt for a ring.
The Lakers have cleverly positioned themselves for the summer of 2019 to strike in what is expected to be an extremely attractive free agent market. Even though L.A. 2018/19 will probably not play for the title, the course has been set for a successful future. If LeBron 2019 finally gets one (or more) co-star(s), the Lakers can really attack.
The grade: 1