07/18:
Gain:
Ryan Kelly - Re-signed to a 2 year deal
Comment: Ryan Kelly has the potential to be a great 3 points shooter at the power forward position. Since D'Antoni gave him more minutes, I was really impressed with his game as a rookie drafted in the 2nd round. It's rebuilding year #2 and I'm glad the Lakers are giving more time to develop him because he, like Sacre have potential to be great backups and valuable role players in the near future as they continue to develop their game as long as the Lakers have a coach to put them in the best position possible. Speaking of coaches, Lakers filled out their roster, the long head coaching search should come to a conclusion soon. Stay tuned.
Wesley Johnson - Re-signed to a 1 year deal
Comment: Didn't expect for Wes to stay, but the Lakers needed some option to back up Nick Young and fill the small forward position. He's good on defense, but on offense he still needs a little polishing, especially with his three point shooting. Wesley Johnson has the athleticism and potential, but he needs to find his confidence to shed his 1st round bust label.
Xavier Henry - Re-signed to a 1 year deal
Comment: X is back on the team. He put up very promising numbers off the bench, just unfortunate that his opportunity to shed his 1st round bust category was derailed with injuries. Henry is quick, best used as a slasher in the paint to clamp down on opposing defenses. He can shoot the 3-ball too but again, I believe he is best used when he's cutting or driving to the basket and drawing the contact.
Loss:
Kendall Marshall - waived
Comment: Even though Marshall fell off during the end of the season, I thought I could see him as a backup point guard at best. It's nice enough to know that the Lakers will consider bringing him back after he's cleared waivers. Very unselfish with the ball, just needs to work on his jump shot and understanding the role of being a floor general-type point guard.
07/17:
Gain:
PF Carlos Boozer (CHI) - Claimed off amnesty waivers
Comment: His numbers have fallen off and basically was a non-factor this season for the Bulls, but Boozer was the best option available for the Lakers to fill a void Gasol left behind. Since the Bulls made the move for Gasol, it was inevitable that they would no longer need Boozer's service. Boozer's offensive game is still solid, but his defense has been suspect the throughout the majority his career. I'm sure he and Kobe will get along just fine considering they were Olympic teammates in the 2008 Beijing games and they have gone through many battles against each other in the playoffs when Boozer was still in Utah, so long time familiarity should benefit.
07/16:
Gain:
PF Ed Davis (MEM) - Agreed to sign to a 2 year $2 M Deal
Comment: I actually think this an underrated free agent signing the Lakers made. True there are times where Davis can contribute big numbers when called upon, but at times can be nonexistent in some games as evident in his play in Toronto. I think his last two seasons with the Grizzlies made him much more of a hard nosed player due to Memphis' grit and grind mentality and he has a lot of upside, just needs more minutes to show off his potential. Hopefully whoever's the coach, I hope the coach knows how to utilize Davis and hope he can also play at the center position so Julius Randle's rookie impact is not derailed, but there's going to be great competition at the power forward position with Randle, Hill, and now Davis.
07/12:
Loss:
Pau Gasol - Agreed to sign with the Chicago Bulls
Comment: Now the rebuilding officially begins. As much as a downer Pau was during the last three seasons, you can't deny since his arrival, the Lakers made three straight finals and won two back-to-back with him on the roster. Gasol wants to prove that he still has some good basketball in him and he deserves a team that respects his game, in which I hope the Bulls do consider and Tom Thibodeou is a heck of a coach. All of this dated back to Mike Brown not respecting his game, then Mike D'Antoni did not respect his game. I understand where Pau's coming from because the last two coaches did not appreciate what he did to the organization before they arrived and best of luck to him in Chicago.
Kent Bazemore - Agreed to sign with the Atlanta Hawks
Comment: Though he was just only a Laker for a half a season, Bazemore displayed some potential on both offense and defense and credit where it's due, D'Antoni did a fine job giving the guy minutes as to opposed to when he was in Golden State, he was just a mere cheerleader and only played during garbage time. With extended minutes, Bazemore made the most of it and contributed decent games. Best of luck to him in Atlanta.
07/11:
Gain:
Jordan Hill - Agreed to re-sign to a 2 year $18 M Deal
Comment: Great to see that Mr. All Out Hustle is coming back to the Lakers. Hopefully he gets to see more playing time on the court because he can score a little, but his rebounding and hustle gives the Lakers a lot of energy. I see that Mitch on the first day of free agency is trying to strengthen that 2nd unit. Although I agree that $18 million is kinda too much to pay Hill that kind of money, but hopefully his productivity will make him worth that money.
Nick Young - Agreed to re-sign to a 4 year $21.5 M Deal (via Twitter)
Comment: The #StaySwag campaign worked! Nick Young said he doesn't want to go nowhere, but LA and he got his wish. Really great contributor off the bench, but doesn't play well when he's in the starting lineup. I think we kinda overpaid for him and he was considering to take less money to stay in LA. With the acquisition of Lin and Swaggy P staying, our bench is gonna improve a lot as long we keep adding the right players.
PG Jeremy Lin (HOU) - Acquired via trade along with a future 1st round pick
Comment: No it's not Melo nor is it big news compared to LeBron's buzzing return to Cleveland, but Lakers needed to make a move in the free agency rather than wait on Melo and lo and behold, Linsanity comes to LA. One thing positive is that we're getting young at the point guard position, but Lin is a seasoned young veteran point guard. Obviously Steve Nash is old, Marshall was way inconsistent, and Farmar had some of his highlights in his 2nd time around, but couldn't stay on the court due to injuries. This is the first step, not a big step, but Lakers could get on track slowly by adding role players with talent and not wait around for a star player.
07/06:
Loss:
Jordan Farmar - Agreed to sign a 2 year $4.2 M deal with the LA Clippers
Comment: This is like the 3rd consecutive offseason that the Clippers picked up another player that last played for the Lakers, first Matt Barnes two offseasons ago, then Antawn Jamison last offseason, and now Farmar. Obviously, LA is Farmar's hometown and he wants to say, but I'm a little surprised that he decided to take a contract offer from the Clippers and didn't try to convince Kupchak that he wants to stay a Laker. The Clippers lost Darren Collison (though he's just moving up NorCal to Sacramento) so why not replace a UCLA alumni with another UCLA alumni?
07/04:
Loss:
Chris Kaman - Agreed to sign a 2 year $9.8 M Deal with the Portland Trailblazers
Comment: Kaman was just a stop gap for the Lakers because last offseason they needed to fill a huge void at the center position that Dwight Howard left behind. Not saying, Kaman was the answer, but he and shifting Pau at center were just temporary bandages. If we do sign Melo, since that's the Lakers' top priority, the Lakers gotta look after some big men now. Even if we do re-sign Pau, we'll need a lot of depth at center.
07/01:
Loss:
Jodie Meeks - Agreed to sign a 3 year $16 million deal with the Detroit Pistons
Comment: Meeks had his breakout year with the Lakers last season and one thing I observed from last season to his previous seasons is the Meeks put up decent numbers as a starter than as a bench player. Best of luck to him in Detroit and hope he performs well under Stan Van Gundy's system, wish we could've kept him for reserve reasons, but he deserves a shot as a full time starter.
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