Los Angeles Lakers: Grading the team’s offseason moves so far

The Los Angeles Lakers reshaped their roster this summer with Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka at the helm. Let’s take a moment to critique their decisions based on the start of the season.

It was one of the wildest NBA offseasons in recent memory as superstars and other players alike switched teams to shift the scales of power in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers were not necessarily players in the market for making a move to become a contender this season, but they made the moves they thought would most improve the team.

Magic Johnson made it clear from the outset of 2017 free agency that the team was going to make decisions that would grant it financial flexibility for the summer of 2018. The Lakers want to be able to have enough cap space to sign two superstars and players such as LeBron James, Paul George, and DeMarcus Cousins will all be on the market.

So far this season, the team stands at 10-18 and is in the middle of a difficult stretch of games against some of the best teams in the league. The Lakers had the same record at this point in time last season, but feelings around the franchise are much more positive with the wealth of young talent taking center stage this season.

The moves that Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka made were executed with the main goal being to allow the young players to develop while still putting a watchable team out on the court for fans to enjoy. This year’s team has been exciting to watch despite all of its growing pains.

Let’s take a look back at some of these offseason decisions and give them grades based on how they have panned out so far this season.