The Lakers made no changes to the top of the roster, but made major adjustments to the rest of the roster. Safe to say, the cadre of veterans the Lakers signed last summer to round out the roster with Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James was a dismal failure.
In free agency, the Lakers signed a quintet of young players: Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. and Thomas Bryant. None of them are All-Stars, but as a group they should be remarkably better than DeAndre Jordan, Kent Bazemore, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley. The proof in the pudding is that all five players have still not been signed this summer.
In his most recent take on NBA power rankings, Zach Harper of The Athletic placed the Lakers 18th, as part of his “Play-In Tournament Teams” section.
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“Has this team improved? I have no idea, honestly, because they shouldn’t have been so bad last season. I know that’s not a satisfying answer, but what are you even doing with this Los Angeles Lakers team? Darvin Ham is the big step here. It proves whether or not Frank Vogel can be the scapegoat of last season. I don’t think Russell Westbrook can go anywhere, so the Lakers have to figure out how to do what’s necessary to win games. They didn’t do that last season. The defense was terrible.”
Harper reminded Lakers fans that for the fourth straight season, LA’s success or failure this season will come down to the health of the two superstars.
“It’s all going to hinge on the good health of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Walker, Brown and Bryant are good pick-ups, but are they really better than the talents coming out in free agency? Hopefully they’re more consistent.”
The Lakers are an enigma for Harper, and hopefully LA will have the answers this coming season.
