Complete 2018 NBA offseason grades for all 30 teams

Los Angeles Lakers

Key additions: Moritz Wagner (draft), Isaac Bonga (draft), Mykhailiuk Sviatoslav (draft), LeBron James (free agency), Lance Stephenson (free agency), JaVale McGee (free agency), Rajon Rondo (free agency), Michael Beasley (free agency)

Key subtractions: Julius Randle (free agency), Brook Lopez (free agency), Isaiah Thomas (free agency), Channing Frye (free agency), Thomas Bryant (waived)

Outside of the Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers were one of the biggest winners of free agency simply for winning the LeBron James sweepstakes. Everything they did before and after that, however, was confounding at best.

For a front office that’s become known for its late first round and second round gems, drafting Moritz Wagner and Isaac Bonga was an underwhelming haul, even if Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk was a good pickup for his shooting ability that should fit in nicely alongside the King.

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After signing LeBron, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka flew off the rails a bit. Re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope isn’t a bad short-term move, providing defense and average 3-point shooting for James, but rounding out the roster with the “Meme Team” of Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo and Michael Beasley was questionable at best.

Rondo, Lance and McGee are all battled tested in the playoffs and Beasley is coming off one of the best years of his career. They’re veterans, and Rondo, Lance and McGee have proven to be respectable playoff adversaries for LeBron in the past. Such a young team needs players like that.

However, none of those guys is a proven 3-point threat, and that’s a lot of personality for any team to handle, let alone a LeBron team that would find itself in the drama spotlight whether it’s in Cleveland or the biggest TV market in the West. Under the bright lights of L.A., we’re going to see a lot of eye rolls, flared-up tempers and tension as this team tries to figure things out.

Landing LeBron James is all that matters in the context of this offseason, because the Lakers are finally relevant again. Wasting a year of his prime at age 33 seems like a mistake though. This team isn’t a legitimate title contender yet, and it’s a little more than ironic that the King left such a frustrating supporting cast only to be joined by this group.

Grade: A-