Los Angeles Lakers: 2018-19 NBA season preview
2018-19 roster
Key Additions: LeBron James (free agency), Rajon Rondo (free agency), Lance Stephenson (free agency), JaVale McGee (free agency), Michael Beasley (free agency), Moritz Wagner (draft), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (draft), Isaac Bonga (draft)
Key Subtractions: Julius Randle (free agency), Luol Deng (waived), Channing Frye (free agency), Brook Lopez (free agency), Isaiah Thomas (free agency), Tyler Ennis (free agency)
This year’s version of the Los Angeles Lakers was undoubtedly better to the 2017-18 team they trotted out based off projected improvements of their young players, but Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have to be ecstatic with how much better they look on paper after the offseason, especially considering their viewpoint of attacking the Golden State Warriors.
We’ll start with their work in the 2018 NBA Draft, which saw them build off last year’s draft philosophy. They grabbed Moritz Wagner, a junior from the University of Michigan, and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, a senior from the the University of Kansas. Wagner is an inside-out big who can play the 4 or 5 with great shooting ability, and Svi is a tall wing that can play on the wing and is arguably a top-five shooter from the 2018 draft class. Both will take time to crack the rotation, but their experience playing in up-tempo systems in college for multiple seasons is perfect for their transition to the Lakers.
The obvious marquee move was landing LeBron James. Adding the best player in the world brings a new dimension and expectation to this team and catapults the Lakers into the discussion of being one of the contenders to the Golden State Warriors’ throne in the West.
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To give the Lakers some experience around their youth, they signed Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley to one-year contracts, maintaining future cap space. This cast of characters may be past their primes individually, but they’re more than capable of providing productive minutes off the bench while giving LeBron a sense of comfort knowing there are playoff-tested players around him that can be thrown into situations.
The only departures that are true losses are Julius Randle and Channing Frye. Randle, who joined the New Orleans Pelicans, had a career season in 2017-18, but didn’t see the expanded role with the Lakers he coveted. His defense from the 5 would be welcomed given their shortcomings at that spot.
Frye is a floor-spacing big that is one of the game’s best locker room guys. He rejoined the Cleveland Cavaliers, but had kind words to say about the Lakers’ core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart.
There are two holes on this roster: knockdown shooting and the center position. The shooting concerns are overblown, but the mystery around the 5 is something to monitor throughout the season ….