The Los Angeles Lakers should wait until 2018 to add major free agents
The Los Angeles Lakers are aiming for the 2018 free agency class as opposed to the 2017 class. That is a smart idea to truly move to the next level.
After securing the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers have reason to be happy with the prospect of adding a premier talent to a roster full of several young players. So imagine the surprise when president of basketball operations Magic Johnson said that the Lakers won’t be active in free agency in 2017, but will wait for the 2018 offseason.
You can’t take everything at face value. Los Angeles, at some level, will be tossed into the mix in free agent interest and will most likely sign a player, maybe even two players. However, the idea of Los Angeles being quiet in free agency with the idea of saving money for the 2018 free agency class is an interesting one.
The 2017 free agency class is shaping up to be a poor one. The class is led by Gordon Hayward, Blake Griffin, and Paul Millsap — all of whom seem like long shots for the Lakers to sign. After that there are a few interesting players, but no true difference-makers in this class that could turn Los Angeles into a playoff team.
Los Angeles will have to come to a point with Paul George. By all accounts, George wants to become a Laker and one team, Boston, has the pieces to make an enticing trade. Maybe Los Angeles makes a trade deal surrounding the second overall pick?
The 2018 free agency class is better for Los Angeles. Stars like John Wall and Russell Westbrook will headline the class, but the likes of DeAndre Jordan, Klay Thompson, Derrick Favors and Avery Bradley will also be a part of a stacked group. The Lakers could use, well, all of those players to help them make the playoffs.
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Ideally, Los Angeles would like to see the likes of Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, one of Lonzo Ball or Josh Jackson, and Julius Randle can form a solid core — one good enough to entice a star or two to team up and join the Lakers. Or, even trading for George and adding one in free agency.
In the end, the most interesting aspect of the Lakers pushing back a free agency splurge is how to attack this upcoming season. George or not, the Lakers don’t project to be a good team in 2017-18. If the improvement is expected to come from within, the Lakers would still be looking at being one of the bottom 10 teams in the league.
The Lakers won’t benefit from it, however, as the Philadelphia 76ers have their unprotected 2018 first round pick.
It also helps them move themselves closer to the end of the Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov contracts. Both signed four-year contracts this past offseason and both were quickly labeled as disasters. At the end of next season, both players will have just two years left on their deals and hopefully easier to trade.
Next: 5 potential landing spots for Blake Griffin in free agency
At first glance, the idea of the Los Angeles Lakers waiting for 2018 to add star players is confusing. However, giving their core time to develop, time to figure out how to move their two big contracts, and time to potentially figure out a star two, seems ideal.