Los Angeles Lakers: 2016 Offseason Grades

The Los Angeles Lakers’ free agency was laughable, but this young team is still on the right path back to prominence. Here are their complete 2016 offseason grades.

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to sign Kevin Durant, they said. Russell Westbrook is going to join him the summer after that, they said. It won’t be long before the bright lights of Hollywood and perfect L.A. weather lures in the next big-name superstar, they said.

For years now we’ve heard about how the Lakers were going to retool overnight with Superstar X or Blockbuster Trade Y, but after the 2016 NBA offseason, it’s safe to say Los Angeles is committed to a longer, winding road.

And you know what? That’s perfectly okay! As much as the Lakers have been renowned for their season-in, season-out success, they’re entering the first scary page of the post-Kobe Bryant chapter.

The Black Mamba’s last few years were a part of the Lakers’ struggle to quickly reassemble another playoff-caliber roster, but aside from a couple of head-scratching deals this summer — and the obvious inability to secure meetings with the summer’s marquee free agents — the Lakers are still on the right path back to prominence. Here are their complete 2016 offseason grades.

Next: Draft Pick No. 1

Draft Pick No. 1

If it weren’t for landing Brandon Ingram with the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Lakers’ summer would’ve been laughable. But no matter where they spent their money in free agency, the Lakers’ offseason wound up fitting in with the direction this franchise needs to go, if only because of this one move.

No matter where you stand in the Ben Simmons vs. Brandon Ingram debate, it’s irrelevant when grading the Lakers’ pick. When the Philadelphia 76ers took Simmons off the board with the first overall pick, the Lakers were left with the easy decision: taking the only other consensus top-two prospect who fell right into their laps.

A one-and-done product from Duke, this 6’10” small forward’s frame is reminiscent of Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo when they first entered the league. His 7’3″ wingspan is similarly all-encompassing, there’s a definite need for some protein shakes and somehow, a player that tall and lanky glides up and down the court with astonishing fluidity.

Though Durant may have been a bit generous when he said Ingram is farther along at this point than KD was when he first came into the NBA, the comparisons are there. Ingram may never develop into one of the greatest shooters in NBA history who can approach 50-40-90 shooting splits, but his athleticism, shooting, passing and high basketball IQ make for a promising start.

In his lone season with the Blue Devils, the 18-year-old Ingram put up 17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game on .442/.410/.682 shooting splits. In five NBA Summer League appearances, he averaged 12.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the floor and 25 percent from long range.

Ingram obviously has to get stronger, and if he ever wants to make good on those unfair Durant comparisons, his ball-handling will need to improve as well. But the Lakers had the easiest decision in the draft at No. 2 and they didn’t mess it up, adding another potential superstar to their promising young core. That alone is enough for a top mark.

Grade: A+

Next: Draft Pick No. 2

Draft Pick No. 2

Brandon Ingram wasn’t the only great thing the Lakers did on draft night, with Ivica Zubac serving as another nice reminder that this front office still knows how to draft — especially after emerging with Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and Larry Nance Jr. over the last two drafts.

At No. 32, the Lakers may have gotten a second round steal with the 7’1″ Serbian. Though many fans had little idea what to expect from their newest center on draft night, he quickly gave them a preview in Las Vegas, averaging 10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and an impressive 2.6 blocks per game.

Zubac shot 64.7 percent from the field in his Summer League five games, converted an efficient 81.8 percent of his free throws and made plenty of Lakers fans feel excited about this potential long-term replacement for Roy Hibbert.

Hell, it wouldn’t be surprising for new head coach Luke Walton to turn to Zubac as the starter before long given this team’s obvious wetness behind the ears.

At 19 years old, “Zublocka” has the physical frame to make it in the NBA with his 7’4″ wingspan. If he can play as competently as he did in Vegas, the Lakers have found a long-term solution at the center spot to pair with an already impressive young nucleus.

Grade: A

Next: Mozzy To The Max

Mozzy To The Max

With the NBA salary cap skyrocketing from $70 million last year to a projected $94 million this season, it was only a matter of time before the basketball world got its first look at how quickly new contracts would seem like drastic overpays.

Go figure it’d be the Lakers who supplied that first icebreaker, agreeing to shovel out a four-year, $64 million deal to center Timofey Mozgov. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the first deal of this summer’s NBA free agency still looks bad after the dust has settled more than a month later.

First reaction? This was a massive overpay for a guy who was replaced by Tristan Thompson as the team’s starting center midway through the season and was virtually unused off the bench during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ championship run.

Last season, Mozgov averaged 6.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 17.4 minutes per game — down from the 10.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 25.0 minutes per game he averaged in his 46 appearances with the Cavs in 2014-15.

However, Mozgov is not totally worthless either, especially to a team that has a definitive need at the center spot with Hibbert gone and Zubac being a 19-year-old rookie.

On a championship-caliber team like Cleveland that had little margin for error while facing a historic 73-win team this year, sure, Mozgov’s value depreciated faster than Subway stock after Jared Fogle got arrested.

But Tyronn Lue‘s midseason promotion to head coach and Mozzy’s early injury problems led to his demotion to bench duty, and with Thompson being able to man the 5-spot, everyone forgot about what Mozgov brought to the table. He played a grand total of 25 minutes in the NBA Finals as the Cavs rallied from their 3-1 deficit to win the title.

The fact that Pau Gasol was reportedly open to a return to the Lakers probably doesn’t help matters either.

However, the Lakers are not a championship-caliber team that has to worry about how Mozgov matches up with the small-ball Warriors. With marquee free agents like Durant and Hassan Whiteside refusing to even take meetings with the Lakers, this prestigious franchise decided to stop chasing giants and address a position of need.

They accomplished that mission by swooping in for Mozgov, and though $16 million seems like a huge chunk of change to fork over, it’s only 17 percent of the cap for the upcoming season. Last season, that percentage would’ve been equivalent to an $11.9 million salary, and in 2017-18, when the cap jumps to a projected $110 million, it’ll only be 14.5 percent (equivalent to $10.1 million last year).

Still, was there really any need to go all in on a center like Timofey Mozgov? Was anyone beating down the Bosnian Bear’s door to sign him to a more competitive offer? Was there really any reason to splurge like this in the first hour of the first night of free agency?

The Lakers had to spend their cap space somewhere, but even paying the equivalent of $11.9 million a year under last year’s cap feels like a steep price for a guy who averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game during Cleveland’s last playoff run.

There’s also the problem of trying to cram a round peg in a square hole. Just because the Lakers needed a center doesn’t mean Mozgov is necessarily a good fit. Can anyone on this team defend a pick-and-roll between the youngsters and Mozzy, who struggles out in space on the perimeter?

Four years is a long time to commit to a 29-year-old center who may have already reached his peak, especially since he doesn’t fit in with any of the youngster’s timelines.

Mozgov might provide some rim protection and rebounding for a young Lakers team that needs it, and this deal hardly interferes with the franchise’s internal development, but even with the expanding salary cap, this was quite a reach.

Grade: D-

Next: Keeping Clarkson

Keeping Clarkson

The Mozgov signing was truly astounding, but the Lakers took care of an important piece of business by re-signing Jordan Clarkson to a four-year, $50 million bargain extension.

Heading into restricted free agency, Clarkson has done little to prove he’s a franchise point guard, settling instead for being a high-volume, semi-efficient scorer. Last season, the 24-year-old Clarkson averaged a career-high 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game on .433/.347/.804 shooting splits.

With Kobe playing in his last season, rookie D’Angelo Russell entering the fold, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams signing on and Nick Young still being Nick Young, the Lakers had tons of guards who needed the ball last year, but Clarkson somehow averaged the second most points and shot attempts behind Kobe.

He’ll need to become a more well-rounded player (or at least a more efficient scorer), but paying $12.5 million a season for a talented youngster like this is chump change under the new salary cap. Now we get to see what Clarkson can do with extra shots to go around.

Grade: A-

Next: Deng Deal

Deng Deal

The Mozgov deal was a jaw-dropper. The Clarkson extension was a step back in the right direction that indicated perhaps the front office had gotten that random act of anarchy out of its system.

The Luol Deng signing — along with the Mozzy deal — said all that needed to be said about the state of the NBA’s historically most prestigious organization.

By signing the 13-year veteran to a massive four-year, $72 million contract, the Lakers revealed where they are as a franchise: No longer relevant enough to appeal to star free agents and looking for locker room veterans to aid their youth movement, but having to drastically overpay in order to land them.

Kobe is one of the all-time greats, but he wasn’t exactly the best example for the youngsters as he looked to go out on his own terms. Bringing in a perennially great teammate and experienced vet like Deng will help set an example for an immature locker room that could use some guidance.

Guys like Russell and Clarkson are a bundle of fun on social media, but let’s face it: they’re not the most mature youngsters running around this league. Russell’s infamous incident with Swaggy P was just one of dozens of signs that this team needed a locker room leader of some sort.

Deng fulfills that need, he eases the pressure off of Ingram to perform right away and he’s still a useful player who can set a proper example on the court as well. Last season for the Miami Heat, Deng came to life in the playoffs, averaging 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on solid .471/.421/.842 shooting splits.

The Lakers won’t need him for his numbers, but he can spread the floor moderately well, gives the roster a bit of needed depth on the wing and can help bolster the NBA’s most porous defense from last season. He’s also got that Duke connection with the new rookie.

This deal isn’t perfect, however, and if it weren’t for Deng’s noted reputation as one of the league’s best teammates, it’d be downright irresponsible to give a four-year contract to a guy with so many minutes to his name who will be 35 by the time his deal ends — and that’s without even mentioning the gargantuan $18 million annual salary attached to it.

Deng is a step in the right direction toward the Lakers rebuilding a championship culture, but he won’t immediately fix the situation, and it’s a steep price/length to pay.

Grade: C+

Next: Hello Huertas

Hello Huertas

Nothing says “backcourt depth” like re-signing the guy who looks like Councilman Jamm from Parks And Recreation, right?

With a two-year extension that will pay him about $1.7 million annually, the Lakers brought back the sometimes entertaining, always defensively inept Marcelo Huertas to add a bit of padding to a backcourt that didn’t really need it.

In his first NBA season last year, Huertas alternated between making some thrilling offensive plays and passes and getting completely embarrassed on the other end of the floor. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.4 assists in 16.4 minutes per game, shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 26.2 percent from three-point range.

Huertas hardly moves the needle for the Lakers at age 33, especially for a backcourt already featuring Russell, Clarkson, Lou Williams, Nick Young and the newly arrived Jose Calderon. But since it’s minimum money we’re talking about here…sure, why not?

Grade: C

Next: Yi Agrees

Yi Agrees

As first reported by ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Lakers are also bringing Chinese star Yi Jianlian back to the NBA. The deal only has $250,000 guaranteed, but holds a base salary of $1.1 million, an $8 million cap hit and could pay him up to $6.8 million with incentives thrown in.

Jianlian is mostly known for being an NBA disappointment after averaging 7.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game on 40.4 percent shooting during his five-year NBA stint.

Considering this seven-footer was called the next Yao Ming and taken by the Milwaukee Bucks sixth overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, Jianlian never lived up to expectations. But he’s also spent the last four years putting up big numbers overseas and now this summer in the Olympics in Rio.

He’s already 28 years old, but the Lakers aren’t competing for anything next season other than internal growth. Why not add a low-risk, potentially high-reward third string center like Jianlian, especially since he’d help keep Chinese fan support strong following Kobe’s retirement?

Next: Odds And Ends

Odds And Ends

Wrapping up the Lakers’ offseason, Los Angeles enjoyed a rather one-sided trade with the Chicago Bulls, who shipped off Jose Calderon and two future second round picks to the Lakers in their quest to free up cap space for Dwyane Wade.

Calderon does little to help the Lakers from a basketball standpoint. He averaged a meager 7.6 points and 4.1 assists per game last season with the New York Knicks, and though he shot 41.4 percent from downtown, Calderon is hardly a priority with the Lakers sporting such a flashy, young backcourt.

He can provide a veteran presence if the Lakers keep him though. His contract is only $7.7 million for one more year, and since the Lakers were gifted with two free second-rounders at the minimal cost of the rights to a TBD draft-and-stash player, this was hardly a loss for L.A.

The Lakers re-signed third-string big man Tarik Black to a two-year, $12.85 million deal. Though this is quite a hefty sum for a virtual unknown name, Black is a hard-working 24-year-old with career averages of 5.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in just 16.6 minutes per game.

Black’s numbers and minutes took a nosedive last season, with the second-year player putting up 3.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game — significantly down from the 7.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game he averaged during his 38-game stint with the Lakers the year before.

Black plays center, but at 6’9″ he’s slightly undersized. This isn’t much of a gamble — both in the risk and the potential reward.

Finally, the Lakers plan to sign former Notre Dame standout Zach Auguste, who went undrafted in this year’s draft, according to Basketball Insiders’ Eric Pincus. Auguste averaged 5.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game on 45 percent shooting for the Lakers’ Summer League team.

Grade: C+

Next: Overall

Overall

Strangely enough, the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2016 offseason was simultaneously disappointing and encouraging — disappointing because they were never in contention for the summer’s game-changing free agents just months after finishing off the worst season in franchise history, but encouraging because they had no choice but to fully commit to a promising youth movement.

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For years, Lakers fans have made it their mission to let the world know they wouldn’t be down and out for long; that Los Angeles would bring Russell Westbrook home in 2017, that Kevin Durant was coming, that Hassan Whiteside was their next franchise center — you name it.

They were dead wrong on those fronts, but they weren’t wrong about it not being long before this team is a Western contender again. With a young nucleus of Russell, Clarkson, Randle, Nance and now Ingram and Zubac, Los Angeles is on the right track.

It may take more patience than Lakers fans are used to, and there’s no question that the drastic overpays for Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng look bad on paper, but they were necessary to provide the youngsters with a positive example and locker room leaders (especially in Deng’s case).

The Mozzy signing may have been the worst contract handed out of the summer, and curiously enough, it was the first of the offseason. The Lakers also missed out on dishing out some of that money to younger, high-upside players during the summer splurge where not every team could hold onto their own guys.

More hoops habit: Golden State Warriors: 2016 Offseason Grades

But by accepting their path back to relevance, adding Ingram to a nice young core and yes, supplying the team with vets by spending all that money somewhere, the Lakers’ free agency wasn’t as laughable as it seems. Internal development needed to be the biggest priority, and nothing the front office did this season derailed that.

Grade: C