The Lakers made no changes to the top of the roster, but did make some major changes to the rest of the roster. It’s safe to say that the veteran cadre the Lakers signed last summer to round out the roster that included Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James was an abject failure.
In free agency, the Lakers signed a quintet of younger players: Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. and Thomas Bryant. None of them are All-Stars, but as a group it should be remarkably better than the likes of DeAndre Jordan, Kent Bazemore, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley. The proof in the pudding is that all five players are still unsigned this summer.
In his most recent take on the NBA rankings, The Athletic’s Zach Harper ranked the Lakers number 18 as part of his “Play-In Tournament Teams” section.
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“Has this team gotten better? I honestly have no idea because it shouldn’t have been” so bad last season. I know that’s not a satisfying answer, but what are you even doing with this Los Angeles Lakers squad? Darvin Ham is the big step here. It proves whether Frank Vogel can be last season’s scapegoat. I don’t think Russell Westbrook is going anywhere, so the Lakers need to figure out how to do what it takes to win games. They didn’t last season. The defense was terrible.”
Harper reminded Lakers fans that LA’s success or failure this season for the fourth straight season comes down to the health of the two superstars.
“It will all rest on LeBron James and Anthony Davis being healthy. Walker, Brown and Bryant are good pick-ups, but are they definitely better than the talent going out the door in free agency? Hopefully they’re more cohesive. “
The Lakers are a mystery to Harper and hopefully LA will have the answers next season.