Los Angeles Lakers: 2017-18 NBA season preview
Roster
Lonzo Ball, PG
V.J. Beachem, SF
Vander Blue, SG
Andrew Bogut, C
Corey Brewer, SG/SF
Thomas Bryant, C
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG
Alex Caruso, PG
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG
Luol Deng, SF
Tyler Ennis, PG
Josh Hart, SG
Brandon Ingram, SF
Kyle Kuzma, PF
Brook Lopez, C
Larry Nance, Jr., PF
Julius Randle, PF
Briante Weber, SG
Stephen Zimmerman, C
Ivica Zubac, C
Offseason Additions
Lonzo Ball (2nd overall pick, UCLA), V.J. Beachem (free agent, undrafted), Vander Blue (free agent, L.A. D-Fenders), Andrew Bogut (free agent, Cleveland Cavaliers), Thomas Bryant (42nd overall pick, Indiana), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (free agent, Detroit Pistons), Alex Caruso (two-way contract), Josh Hart (30th overall pick via Utah via Golden State, Villanova), Kyle Kuzma (27th overall pick via Brooklyn via Boston, Utah), Brook Lopez (traded from Brooklyn Nets), Briante Weber (free agent, Charlotte Hornets), Stephen Zimmerman (free agent, Orlando Magic)
Offseason Departures
Tarik Black (free agent, Houston Rockets), Timofey Mozgov (traded to Brooklyn Nets), David Nwaba (waived, Chicago Bulls), Thomas Robinson (free agent, unsigned), D’Angelo Russell (traded to Brooklyn Nets), Metta World Peace (free agent, unsigned), Nick Young (free agent, Golden State Warriors)
Quick Thoughts
Last summer the Los Angeles Lakers struck immediately in free agency, throwing an incredible amount of money at first Timofey Mozgov and then Luol Deng. By handing out four-year deals the Lakers crippled their ability to easily free up cap space, complicating the path forward for this team.
Under the new leadership of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, the Lakers are past the temptation of waving around lengthy contracts. With all sights set on the summer of 2018, this year was about amassing and evaluating young talent, while putting together a roster that wins enough games to reach respectability.
Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart — these are young players with defined NBA skills that could become solid contributors (Kuzma, Hart) or transcendent stars (Ball) if things break right. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is signed to a reasonable one-year contract, and will either vacate the Lakers’ books next summer (great) or re-sign to be the consolation prize if they strike out on the big fish (good).
With Lopez and Caldwell-Pope on board, this team has more veteran talent in their primes than they have in years. This roster has intriguing options at every position, and is two deep at most. By amassing so much young talent the Lakers have inexpensive options to fit around an expensive core. If LeBron James or Paul George come to town, L.A. has the versatility to plug low-cost players around them.