The Lakers offseason signings that puzzled the NBA world came back to haunt them

Scott Davis

Mar 6, 2019, 00:04 IST

The Lakers offseason signings that puzzled the NBA world came back to haunt them

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are long-shots to make the playoffs in LeBron James' first season with the team.
Though there is plenty of blame to go around, one of the critical failings of the Lakers was their free agency signings, which many questioned when they were made.
The Lakers signed several journeymen to one-year deals, but none of them provided the necessary shooting or defense that have made James-led teams successful.
While much attention was paid to the Lakers' young core, those players have generally played well, while the Lakers' free agent signings have not had a positive, on-court impact.

The Los Angeles Lakers are not officially eliminated from playoff contention, but Monday's loss to the LA Clippers felt like a breaking point.

At 30-34, the Lakers are 4.5 games out of the last playoff spot with 18 games and a difficult schedule remaining. In the past two weeks, the Lakers have stumbled several times, losing to bad teams at a critical juncture of their season. There's little to suggest they can climb out of this slump and rally for the postseason over the next five weeks.

Much of the attention, of course, has gone to LeBron James. Perhaps this fate would have been avoided if James hadn't injured his groin on Christmas and missed a month of the season, a stretch that saw the Lakers go 6-12, falling from fourth place in the West.

It's natural for there to be questions about whether James, at 34, can still lead a team to a championship, and who he can recruit to help turn things around.

There has also been a great deal of focus on the Lakers' young core, namely Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Lonzo Ball. All three were heavily involved in Anthony Davis trade rumors during the season and seemed to let it affect their play.

Their roles and performance were analyzed continuously, mainly because James has made no secret of his preference for veteran players, and these young players were thrown into the fire, asked to take on more prominent roles to lead the Lakers to the playoffs.

However, one of the reasons the Lakers appear set to miss the postseason is something most saw coming since July - the bizarre free agent signings the Lakers made to fill out their roster.

Shortly after landing LeBron James on July 1, the Lakers added JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, and re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, all to one-year deals.

The NBA world immediately questioned these signings. James has thrived with shooters and defenders around him. The Lakers' signings offered very little of that. Instead, they seemed poised to clog the paint and take the ball away from James. It certainly did not help that players like McGee, Stephenson, Rondo, and Beasley are NBA journeymen with questionable on-court value.

The Lakers reasoned these signings by saying they wanted to surround James with more ball-handlers to ease the load on James. They wanted "tough" players with intangibles that could help win a playoff series. They argued that nobody could beat the Golden State Warriors by emulating them. The Lakers zigged where others zagged.

Mark J. Terrill/AP

The team the Lakers built around LeBron James didn't make much sense.

There was some reason for the premise. Perhaps it would be better to lighten the load on James in the regular season. The Lakers might not be a sweet-shooting team from deep, but with defense and a fast-paced offense (two things they largely achieved during the season), they could win enough games to make the playoffs.

Even still, it was hard not to come back to questioning the construction of the roster. Former Cleveland Cavaliers GM David Griffin might have said it best when he argued that, if and when the Lakers made the playoffs, the players surrounding James wouldn't work. You want James to have the ball when it matters - he's the single best shot-creator in the game, Griffin said. The Lakers surrounded him with players who couldn't function well without the ball. The example Griffin used is James driving and kicking the ball for ... a Rajon Rondo jumper?

James seemingly had input on the roster decisions, and he is not blameless. Team president Magic Johnson met with James when free agency began and spoke to him about potential signings. According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, James wanted more ball-handlers and tough, veteran players. The Lakers also wanted one-year deals to preserve cap space for this summer.

Perhaps the Venn diagram of these types of players was small. The Lakers might have had limited options.

Mark J. Terrill/AP

The Lakers young players have generally played well.

Nonetheless, James and the young Lakers mostly did their jobs. Ball, Ingram, and Kuzma have all raised their scoring averages and overall field goal percentage (with declines in three-point percentage) this season. Ingram and Kuzma have increased their free throw rate, and both have shot better at the rim and in the paint.

They've struggled at times figuring out their fit next to James. That's not surprising; young players often have growing pains, and both players' role changed dramatically with the presence of James.

Over the last 11 games, Ingram has averaged 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game on 53% shooting, 45% from three. Kuzma has averaged nearly 20 points per game on 50% shooting over that stretch.

The Lakers' on-off court net rating splits suggest they've been better with James, Ball, Ingram, and Kuzma on the floor, while they've been not so good with their free agency signings.

via NBA.com/Stats

One offseason signing is looking worse and worse for the Lakers - signing Beasley for one year, $3.5 million. That's the same deal Brook Lopez got from the Milwaukee Bucks. Lopez was on the Lakers last season, and they let him walk in free agency.

Aaron Gash/AP

Letting Brook Lopez walk in free agency was a mistake by the Lakers.

This season, Lopez has been one of the best three-point shooters in the league, providing key spacing at the center position for the Bucks while also defending capably for one of the league's best defenses. The Lakers cut Beasley in February.

Again, perhaps the Lakers didn't have tons of options for players on one-year deals. But JJ Redick re-signed with the Philadelphia 76ers for one year, $12.5 million - about the same deal the Lakers gave Caldwell-Pope.

Maybe Lopez and Redick didn't want to sign with the Lakers. Could that have changed if the Lakers were offering better money than what both players, respectively, got from Milwaukee and Philadelphia? The Lakers could have topped both players' offers. The team might be in a better position today if they had.

Injuries have played a part. James has said he hasn't had a season where so many key players have missed time. And it's true - injuries to Rondo and Ball (and of course, James) specifically, have hurt the Lakers chemistry.

But every team has injuries and bad luck. The Lakers haven't been good enough to overcome them.

Now the Lakers face an offseason with high stakes. They'll try hard to land another star to play with James. As things currently stand, the odds don't look good for landing the top free agents like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard, based on reports and quotes from the players themselves.

Will the Lakers overpay for Tier 2 free agents, like Tobias Harris, Khris Middleton, and more, merely to add talent?

They'll also re-explore trades for Anthony Davis. The only problem is, outside of a likely lottery pick, their offer hasn't gotten better. Will the Pelicans change their stance on trading Davis?

Striking out in both areas is a real possibility for the Lakers. If they do, the Lakers will have to get creative to turn things around, all while LeBron James' clock ticks.