Los Angeles Lakers: 2016 Offseason Grades
Fresh off of the worst season in franchise history, the Los Angeles Lakers were very active in improving their roster this offseason. Here is a look at every move they made and grades on each of their acquisitions.
In the 2015-16 season, the Los Angeles Lakers once again topped their franchise-worst record, posting a 17-65 record that ranked dead last in the Western Conference and second-to-last in the league overall.
Luckily for them, their most tragic season yet just so happened to also be the legendary Kobe Bryant’s final one, allowing them to still cling to a shred of relevancy for most of last year as fans tuned into Laker games just to see the Black Mamba work his magic for one last go-round.
Bryant did not disappoint, giving fans epic performances from arena to arena before going out with a bang by dropping 60 points in his last game on the Staples Center floor.
The minute Bryant left Staples that night, a new era begin in Los Angeles.
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The team started by letting go of former head coach Byron Scott, the man who was at the helm for the three worst seasons in franchise history, and bringing on a former Laker player in Golden State Warriors assistant Luke Walton to champion their new youth movement.
Entering the 2016 offseason, the team knew it was going to build a team centered around its young trio of point guard D’Angelo Russell, 2-guard Jordan Clarkson and power forward Julius Randle, and that its two major points of need were at the small forward and center positions.
While some questionable moves were made (we’ll get to those later), Mitch Kupchak and company did a great job overall of adding both youth and veteran talent to the fold to help make the team more competitive in the short term while continuing the long-term rebuilding process.
Without further ado, here’s a look at the many moves the Lakers made this offseason and the quality of those acquisitions.
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