NBA Free Agency: Grading all 30 teams on trades and signings

NBA Free Agency Grades: Los Angeles Lakers

Signings: Lonnie Walker IV (1 year, $6.48 million); Damian Jones (2 years, $4.89 million); Thomas Bryant (1 year, $2.13 million); Troy Brown Jr. (1 year, $1.97 million); Juan Toscano-Anderson (1 year, $1.9 million)

Trades: None

The moves of the Los Angeles Lakers last summer formed one of the worst offseasons for any NBA team in the history of the league. Trading solid rotation players for Russell Westbrook was a disaster of a trade right when it happened and obvious to anyone not named Rob Pelinka and LeBron James. Surrounding Westbrook, James and Anthony Davis with aging veterans didn’t help much either.

The Lakers have been unable to pivot away from Westbrook this summer, but if they manage to turn him into Kyrie Irving this grade will tick up a bit. What the Lakers did execute was a plan to get younger, signing more mid-career players with their collection of minimum contracts.

In that play to get younger, they used their Taxpayer MLE, the one bullet available to them larger than the minimum, on Lonnie Walker IV. The former San Antonio Spurs wing has shown very little that suggests he is a future star or even starter on a good team. Last year their MLE signing, Kendrick Nunn, gave them nothing; it will be painful if that happens again. If he does put things together, he’s signed for just one year and will likely leave for a payday just as Malik Monk did this summer.

Juan Toscano-Anderon, Damian Jones and Troy Brown Jr. are interesting depth pieces, and Thomas Bryant is a good offensive center if he can stay healthy. At the end of the day, though, the Lakers don’t have the pieces in place to be a contender. For a team with LeBron James that’s always an abject failure. Grading in the context of this offseason, though, their grade reflects their moves this summer, and not the sins of the past.

Grade: C+