Sports
Grading Lakers' Biggest Moves from 2023 NBA Offseason – Bleacher Report
The 2023 NBA offseason could go down as the gift that keeps on giving to the Los Angeles Lakers.
They added young talent at the draft. They re-signed nearly every key free agent they had and still maintained the flexibility to bring in players from outside the organization. They watched LeBron James silence any retirement talk. They also fortified their future by extending Anthony Davis.
All in all, it’s a job (very) well done by this front office, but what happens if you narrow the scope to individual assessments? Well, that’s the task we’re tackling here by assigning letter grades to three of L.A.’s most significant decisions.
The Contract: Four years, $56.3 million
The Analysis: When Austin Reaves was leveling up at a rapid rate over the second half of the 2022-23 season, it seemed as if his free agency venture could wind up being much more lucrative than it actually was.
A near-nine-figure sum wasn’t out of the question. The San Antonio Spurs mulled paying him that much.
In the end, though, he simply re-signed with the Lakers and perhaps gave them one of the Association’s best non-rookie contracts. He may not have a super-lengthy track record with only two seasons under his belt, but all arrows point to him outperforming his new pay rate.
He used the post-All-Star stretch to suggest he could have some All-Star selections in his future by averaging 17.6 points on 57.8/44.3/85.6 shooting and 5.5 assists against 2.0 turnovers. If he maintains anything close to this level of volume and efficiency, his contract will be a certified steal.
The Grade: A+
The Contract: Three years, $51 million
The Analysis: While it wasn’t entirely clear what kind of coin Rui Hachimura might collect as a restricted free agency, this doesn’t feel like the highest end of what he could’ve reasonably received.
The No. 9 pick in 2019 has long tantalized with his tools, and he has proved himself as a skilled scorer inside the arc. His ability to grow his game has always been a question, and, to be clear, it still qualifies as such. The Lakers can’t say for certain what they’ll get from him on the defensive end or with his outside shot. (They also have zero reason to believe he’ll emerge as a capable passer.)
But future growth is certainly possible for the 25-year-old, who spent the playoffs dropping encouraging hints of what he could become. He was a legitimately impactful defender, and he’s never been more dialed in from distance (19 threes at a 48.7 percent clip).
The Lakers can’t count on those areas being strengths moving forward, but skeptics can’t dismiss that possibility, either. That makes this a solid investment.
The Grade: B
The Contract: Three years, $186 million
The Analysis: This deal is the richest annual contract extension in league history, averaging an eye-popping $62 million per season.
In terms of talent, Davis has more than enough of it to justify the cost. He is an elite paint protector who doubles as a high-end scorer who can rock the rim or shred nets with a silky mid-range jumper. He’s been a great player for nearly his entire career—he was a 20-point, 10-rebound provider by his second season—and he’s shown no signs of slowing down on the court.
The thing is, though, he doesn’t always make it to the court. His injury history is about as lengthy as they come. He hasn’t played 70-plus games since 2017-18 and has averaged just 44 outings over the past three seasons. Expecting him to buck this trend as he probes deeper into his 30s is an extreme example of unbridled optimism.
Locking up Davis gives the Lakers some clarity for their post-LeBron chapter—whenever that will start—but it also exposes L.A. to a high level of risk given Davis’ availability issues. Clearly, the Lakers think the security of having Davis signed long-term was worth it, but if his injury issues worsen with age, this has albatross-contract potential. L.A. can keep championship-chasing with Davis for now, but depending on how it builds around him moving forward, the final few years of this pact could be rough.
The Grade: D+
