Lakers 2016 Offseason Activity

07/07:

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Marcelo Huertas - Re-signed to a 2-year deal

Comment: I'm gonna channel my inner Steve Harvey here and retract the comments I made about Huertas when the Lakers got Jose Calderon in a trade. Thought the Lakers were not going to retain him since they got Calderon, who's an upgrade over Huertas, but I'm gonna have to apologize on that comment. Now, the depth at the point guard position is stacked as Russell, Huertas, and Calderon have proven they can facilitate offensively. It's going to be interesting to see how that rotation works. But nonetheless, welcome back Marcelinho!

07/06:

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Jose Calderon (CHI) - Acquired via trade

Comment: On the Chicago Bulls side of things, they had to clear up some cap space to make room for Dwyane Wade. A backup guard (preferably a point guard) is also a need for the Lakers and they get a one-year rental with Jose Calderon whose contract is about to expire after incoming season to fill that need. This likely means that Marcelo Huertas is not going to be retained after one season, backing up D'Angelo Russell. Calderon is a definite upgrade over Huertas in terms of scoring, play-making ability, and having shot a high percentage from behind the three point arc throughout most of his career. The reason he fell out with the Knicks is because they ran the Triangle Offense full time and Calderon just didn't fit in. Running a fast, free-flow offense under Luke Walton should allow him to rekindle some of his game before his fallout with the Knicks.

07/04:

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Tarik Black - Re-signed to a 2-year, $12.85 million deal

Comment: I had to let all the Kevin Durant to the Warriors talk subside before I give my thoughts on the Lakers bringing Tarik Black back. Black is the one unrestricted free agent that I want the Lakers to re-sign because of his potential. Tarik Black showed he can be a high energy guy for the Lakers when given the minutes and the opportunity. There's no doubt that he'll get more opportunities to develop his game under Luke Walton unlike when he was playing under Byron Scott. More minutes to Sacre over Black? C'mon man!

07/02:

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Luol Deng (MIA) - *Details here*

07/01:

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Jordan Clarkson - *Details here*

06/30:

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Timofey Mozgov (CLE) - *Details here*

Lakers Reach Deal with Luol Deng

The Lakers continue their free agency in surrounding their young core with quality, veteran players. Just a few hours ago, the Lakers have reached an agreement with Miami Heat small forward, Luol Deng. Deng's contract details with the Lakers is a 4-year, $72 million deal.

I should ask myself why didn't I include Deng in my free agency outlook post? This is a smart, solid move for the Lakers and they sign him to a contract that's reasonable given his production last season with the Heat and his NBA career overall. What Deng will bring to the Lakers is that he's going to bring scoring (albeit inconsistent), defense, and much-needed veteran leadership, The only question that remains is will he be a temporary stopgap at the "3" while Ingram develops as a starter or will he back up Ingram off the bench? Given Deng's high character and class, he'll accept whatever Luke Walton tells him to do. With Walton installing elements of the Golden State Warriors' system on the Laker personnel and with Mozgov and now, Deng on board, you can pretty much connect the dots here. Mozgov will play a role that is similar to Andrew Bogut, but better when healthy. Deng could be playing a role for the Lakers similar to Andre Iguodala. Again, this is a smart move on the Lakers' part. 

Lakers to Retain Jordan Clarkson

The Lakers didn't waste any time to retain one of their key players of the future. Jordan Clarkson is coming back to the purple and gold. The contract details of Clarkson's retention is on a 4-year $50 million deal. Again, none of this is official yet until July 5, when players can sign with teams.

I'm glad to see that the Lakers actually made Clarkson a top priority and they swooped him out of the market immediately before teams can pry him out of LA for better deals that the Lakers can't match (Clarkson's a restricted free agent). Like I said, in two seasons, Clarkson has proven to the Lakers that he's worth a steal in the 2nd round, averaging double figure PPG (points per game) and constantly improving field goal percentage. If you're following him this offseason, he's not wasting any time to relax as he's working out in the Lakers' facility, improving his strength and conditioning and refining his game. He definitely learned a thing or two from Kobe in terms of work ethic. So with Clarkson staying, the core along with Russell, Randle, and Ingram is safe, barring any ridiculous trade. It's going to be interesting to see how they gel and grow under Luke Walton. Welcome back JC!

Lakers Reach Deal With Timofey Mozgov

The Lakers have made their first splash in the 2016 free agency period. They have reached a principle agreement to Cleveland Cavaliers center, Timofey Mozgov. Details of the contract is a 4-year, $64 million deal. The contract cannot be signed until July 5, the official date when players can sign with teams.

I haven't given much thought in Mozgov being a backup plan for the Lakers' need in my Free Agency Outlook to go along the lines of my list of possible options the Lakers need to add at the center position. My fellow Lakers fans expecting a serious run at KD or DeRozan will probably lose their minds at giving Mozgov a possible $16 million per year. Again, the Lakers have to take a realistic approach and focus on surrounding the young core with quality veterans. Whiteside or Horford may be the sexier pickup, but Mozgov is not too bad either. Plus, with the cap space the Lakers have, they have to overpay some guys to get on the cap floor, but that doesn't mean I'm saying Mozgov is worth $64 million for 4 years. Could the Lakers get him for a lower deal? Absolutely. But, he fills a need and is an above average starting-caliber center. We haven't heard from him in this year's finals because he was injured. Compared to last year, he put up solid performances for the Cavs. When healthy, he provides some decent rim protection and he can be effective in "PNR" situations and expect Luke Walton to put him in many of those situations as the system is put in place. Hey, he can't be worse than Roy Hibbert or Robert Sacre (shudders). 

Lakers 2016 Free Agency Outlook: A Methodical Approach

Alright Laker Nation, welcome in to the 1st ever free agency outlook on this blog. I've done this kind of post three times in the past, covering the Raiders and the NFL free agency period. I figured a Lakers and NBA free agency outlook is overdue here and I got a hand of keeping track of the negotiation periods and the start of free agency. 

In contrast to my three previous "Outlook" posts, this will be my most methodical post of any posts before a free agency period starts. Let's face it, we keep buying into the hype that a "superstar" player on the unrestricted free agency list will be in a Laker uniform. And year after year, we come up empty and we have to settle for "leftover" free agents since quality free agents already passed by and sign with teams while the Lakers wait out on a superstar's decision. In my Season in Review post for the 2015-16 season, I voiced out that the Lakers should not wait out on a star player's decision and go after quality players and veterans that could help the young core develop and grow.

Trade D'Lo for Cousins?

The problem that persisted over time with the Lakers and their failure to attract top-tier free agents is that they're clinging onto the past. Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak pitch in to the idea that because the Lakers have a rich history with 16 championships and because it's L.A./Hollywood, the top-tier free agents should sign with them. That's not going to fly. Nowadays, star players to teams are more about "what can you do for me now" not "what have you done in the past." And players want to go to teams that are in position to contend for a title now. So, it's time to stop thinking an established NBA superstar is going to come to the Lakers. Kevin Durant is not coming and the Lakers' FO shouldn't even dare to attempt to trade D'Angelo Russell for DeMarcus Cousins.

Okay, they want to build a contender while developing the young core of Russell, Randle, Clarkson, and Ingram. But, trying to do both is impossible. In hindsight, the Lakers have to be realistic in their free agency approach and build around their young core that possesses promising potential under new head coach Luke Walton. With the NBA setting the salary cap at $94 million for the incoming 2016-17 NBA Season, the Lakers sit atop with the most cap space out of all 30 teams with $60+ million to spend in the free agency period.

Obviously, the Lakers need help in every position in this offseason. I've listed out what I believe are the Lakers' priorities heading into the free agency period: 1) Starting-caliber Center 2) Backup Veteran Small Forward 3) Backup Veteran Guard.

Whiteside to the West Side?

Since the departure of Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, the Lakers have lacked a true rim protector at the Center position. One of the most talked-about free agents at the Center position that the Lakers have been linked to is Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat. Whiteside revitalized his NBA career with the Heat and worked his way up to All-Defensive 2nd team honors and being the NBA's leader in blocks for the 2015-16 season. Whiteside can bring an immediate defensive presence in the paint for the Lakers. 

Of course Whiteside is not the "be all end all" option. There are several backup options that the Lakers have available, particularly Al Horford, Bismack Biyombo, Ian Mahinmi, and Joakim Noah. Horford may not provide the inside presence that Whiteside has, but he makes up for the ability to stretch the floor because of his 3-point shot. Joakim Noah could have a similar role to what Andrew Bogut has with the Warriors given that Luke Walton wants to bring over elements of the Warriors' brand of basketball except with more versatility, hustle, and athleticism. 

How about luring Jeff Green to the purple and gold side of the Staples Center Hallway?

We are excited about what Brandon Ingram can bring to the table at the Small Forward ("3") position for the Lakers. The problem is he doesn't have much help to back him up at the 3 position. If you think Nick Young is capable to back up Ingram? I beg to differ. Given the tension between Young and Russell in a phone recording incident and that D'Angelo is too valuable of a piece of the future to trade, it should be a no brainer that Nick Young has to go and I'll discuss a trade scenario that involves Nick Young shortly. 

Furthermore, this discussion will subtract Kevin Durant and LeBron James off the equation since they are the top-tier FAs at the 3. The players that are on the Lakers' radar for the 3 spot are Harrison Barnes and Nicolas Batum. Even though Walton is familiar with Barnes during his tenure with Golden State, Barnes' woeful shooting in this years' finals will likely serve as precaution to not give him a max deal. Batum has a couple more years left in him as a starter. If the plan is to have Ingram come off the bench, then it's understandable for the Lakers to go after either of them, preferably Batum.

However, if the plan is to immediately insert Ingram into the starting lineup at the 3 position, I threw out a wild card unrestricted free agent into the mix on who the Lakers could get to back up Ingram. Enter Jeff Green. Albeit inconsistent, Green can be the all-around player who can come off the bench for the Lakers in terms of providing scoring, rebounding, and defense. He'll give the Lakers more versatility, given he can play both the small forward (3) and power forward (4) spot. 

Nick Young to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Jarrett Jack? Hmmm...

We now move onto a trade scenario that I made up that involves shipping Nick Young out of LA using ESPN's NBA Trade Machine. A possible trade that I came up with involves the Brooklyn Nets as a possible trade partner. The Nets are shopping around Jack before Thursday and if they couldn't find a trade partner, they'll most likely waive his contract. The benefits of acquiring Jack is that the Lakers are going to get a proven backup point guard. Jack has bounced around the league, backing up the likes of Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving. He'd be the perfect complement backing up D'Angelo Russell in terms of scoring and playmaking ability and he will provide veteran leadership that the Lakers desperately need. However, there is a risk in acquiring Jack. He's coming off from an ACL injury and he's getting older, turning 33 years old at the start of the season.

The Lakers can choose to be risk-averse and not trade for an older player (although, I still prefer if Nick Young is traded to another team). There are other, younger options for a backup guard in the open market. D.J. Augustin and Norris Cole are my personal preferences for the Lakers to sign in free agency to fill a backup guard spot. Augustin can provide scoring and playmaking off the bench. Cole can also provide some decent scoring and provide some much-needed defense on the perimeter. And considering that the Lakers are in a conference facing the likes Paul, Curry, Westbrook, and Lillard, they could use Cole's services on the defensive end. 

Other Thoughts/Re-Sign Priorities

"Mo Buckets" in the Purple and Gold?

Considering Luke Walton has ties to the Warriors and wants to install elements of Warriors' basketball, players like Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli have been rumored to follow Luke to LA. Barnes is considered provided that the Lakers have explored every option at the 3 position and I would like them to shelve aspirations of adding Ezeli as an emergency option. However, if there's one player I would want the Lakers to pry away from the Warriors, it'd have to be Marreese Speights aka "Mo Buckets." Speights would provide a "stretch 5 (Center)." His addition will allow the Lakers and Walton to exploit some mismatches offensively.

Jordan Clarkson is a MUST re-sign.

In terms of re-signing players from last season's roster, Jordan Clarkson has got to be the "no brainer" for the Lakers to re-sign. Through two seasons, Clarkson has proved that the Lakers made a 2nd round steal by trading for him after he was drafted by the Washington Wizards. He may not be All-Star material, but he's an integral piece to the Lakers' renaissance post-Kobe era along with Russell, Ingram, and Randle. The priority to re-sign Clarkson should be sky high for the Lakers. Another possible free agent that the Lakers should consider re-signing is Tarik Black. Even though Black is still raw, there's no question he brings hustle and energy to the Lakers and he could show significant development by playing under Luke Walton. Obviously, Black is a better option as a backup Center than Robert Sacre.

Roster Projection/Conclusion

After making my case on how the Lakers should approach free agency and how they should address their roster needs, this is how I'm projecting what their starting lineup and rotation would look like:

PG: Russell/Jack (or Augustin or Cole)/Clarkson/Williams 

SG: Clarkson/Williams/Russell/Brown

SF: Ingram/Green (or Batum)/Brown

PF: Randle/Nance, Jr./Speights?/Green/Black

C: Whiteside (or Horford or Noah or Biyombo or Mahinmi)/Black/Speights?/Zubac

Versatility, a good mixture of youth and experience with quality veteran players surrounding our young, promising core is what I'm seeing with how this roster looks on paper. This Laker team may not be a championship-level team with this roster, but if the young core makes significant progress and players gel faster than expected, they could make a surprise playoff push down the stretch as a 6th-8th seed in the West. 

July should usher in a new chapter in Lakers history. As usual like what I did with my "Raiders Offseason Activity Posts," I will constantly update a single post on the Lakers' offseason transactions and give my reaction. Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss, it's time to set a realistic path and field together a competitive roster with quality players surrounding the young core of the future. No more wasting time on waiting for a superstar's decision. No more. I'll see you guys later.

2016 NBA Free Agents

Lakers 2016 NBA Draft Recap

Alright Laker Nation, the Lakers have wrapped up their draft night, assuming they're not going to make a trade for another draft pick (which is unlikely). I'm going to make this post short and sweet and give my thoughts on the Lakers' two pick in 2016 NBA Draft. Here are the picks and then I'll provide my thoughts:

Round 1 Pick 2: Brandon Ingram, SF, Duke

Highlights:

Round 2 Pick 32: Ivica Zubac, C, Croatia

Highlights:

Comments

There were no other options to consider on the 2nd pick in the first round, the Lakers had to take Brandon Ingram after the 76ers got Ben Simmons. I made a little joke that if the Lakers selected somebody outside of Ingram with the 2nd pick, I was going to go down to El Segundo and choke someone in the Lakers F.O. (front office). I'm satisfied they stuck with the script of Simmons, then Ingram, then every prospect for himself for every other team. The Lakers are getting a high ceiling prospect with superstar potential in Ingram. I did a Simmons vs. Ingram comparison myself and Ingram has clear-cut advantages in scoring and defensive capabilities because of his length and wingspan (a la Kevin Durant). I think his passing and court vision is solid, surely not up to par with Ben Simmons, but it's still decent. He could be the next K.D. A lot of skeptics are saying he's too skinny, but obviously with a little strength and conditioning, he could bulk up easily. Ingram and Russell on the same court has potential to be a legit scoring duo.

When the Lakers took Ivica Zubac in the 2nd round, I heard that most teams had him on radar as late bloomer in the 1st round at best. If that was the case, I thought to myself this guy could be a possible steal. Of course him being an international prospect is going to throw off the casual fan. I am that casual fan, but this is what I'll tell you about Zubac, his game reminds me of Pau Gasol. Zubac has a good low post game; that's what drew the Gasol comparisons when I saw his highlights. I would say he's a better finisher than Pau in the paint (subject to change once he faces NBA competition). Defensively, he's got a good recovery once he gets beat because he continues to stay on his man (again, subject to change once faces NBA competition). With a little more development and refinery of his game inside the post, he could turn out to be a good rim protector and a quality backup Center.

Overall, the Luke Walton era is off to a solid start. The Lakers addressed the draft the right way, taking the 2nd best prospect after Ben Simmons and filling a need at the Center position (in my opinion). I give Mitch Kupchak and even Jim Buss credit for staying firm and doing the right thing in selecting Ingram. Well, next stop is the free agency period in July. I'll see you guys for that.

Grade: A

Lakers Hire Luke Walton

So while I keeping track of the Raiders' 2016 NFL Draft selections, I got an alert on my Team Stream App and I received a text from my friend, Stillmattic that the Lakers have hired Luke Walton to become the next head coach. I thought this wasn't a surprising hire. Ever since the Lakers fired Byron Scott, Luke has been the hot commodity in terms of candidates in the Lakers' head coach search. We've seen what he's done, coaching the Warriors in Steve Kerr's absence and leading them to a 39-4 start. We hear the pundits saying that Luke inherited a stacked Warriors team, but with or without Kerr, the Warriors respected Luke Walton as a coach. Yes, the transition will be a lot different because he's inheriting a core of Russell, Randle, and Clarkson who are still developing as players and their chemistry is a work-in-progress. Even though it's nice to see Luke come back to L.A. and the Laker brass knows how to take care of their alumni well, the question is will he bring over the Warriors' offensive system and replicate that system to this current Laker squad? Because Luke has played and excelled in the Triangle Offense under Phil Jackson and he might want to bring that as the Lakers' full time offense. In my honest opinion, the way the Lakers' roster is structured without Kobe Bryant in terms of talent, they're more suited to run an offense similar to what the Warriors are running: running the floor, unselfish ball movement, setting multiple screens to give players open looks. Again, I'm not surprised at Luke Walton's hiring, but he's definitely a better option over Byron Scott. It's going to be interesting to see how Luke will develop this young roster and how he will tailor offensive and defensive sets to fit the personnel of this Lakers team. Other than that, welcome home Luke!

Lakers Fire Byron Scott

Laker Nation, this might be the most relieving news that we could get. Tonight, Byron Scott is relieved of his duties as the Lakers head coach per Adrian Wojnarowski. I'm not going to go much into this to give my reaction, but like I said, this is the best news we could get. I have a lot of respect for what Byron Scott contributed to as a player for the Lakers, but as a coach? He hasn't contributed much other than giving the Lakers a chance for a top 3 pick. 38-126 overall in his tenure with the Lakers says enough. Not to mention, his coaching slide dates back to his coaching days in Cleveland. Throwing players under the  bus, erratic rotations, implementing an offense that does not fit the personnel, defensive inefficiencies, there's no question that Scott's days were eventually numbered. Now onto coaching options, there isn't much out there. As I said in my "Season in Review" post, the Lakers missed out on an opportunity to land Scott Brooks or Tom Thibodeau. However a guy like Mark Jackson is available for hire. We'll see which direction the Lakers go for their next head coaching candidate, but the Byron Scott fiasco is finally over in LA.