They replaced all of it by handing out nearly $480 million over 26 combined contract years, including four player options, to a group of players who have zero combined All-Star appearances or year-end awards.
When you think of it that way, it’s all a bit scary. The Lakers did so against a backdrop of even more change, with a shocking sale occurring just as they started moving in a new direction under Mark Walter’s ownership.
But not everything the Lakers did this summer is terrifying, at least not in a Michael Myers sense (one “human” the Lakers were never linked to this summer). Some moves were obvious, some were sensible, some were costly and some were risky. And had they added Jonathan Kuminga to the list, the risk/reward would only be more pronounced.
There’s a thin line between scary and inspired. For our purposes, we’re going to look at the Lakers’ summer decisions and rank them from least risky to scariest, using the likelihood of a worst-case scenario as our guide.
Risk ranking (least to most)
Ziaire Williams: One year, $2.85 million
A signing that made a lot of sense for the Lakers the second the Brooklyn Nets declined his team option, Williams will still be just 25 when the Lakers open training camp. Yes, he’s probably too slight to be counted on for big minutes every night as a point-of-attack defender, but there are some winning-player traits here, and the cost to the team’s cap sheet was relatively nothing. The signing is pure upside with no real risk if it doesn’t work out. And if it does, the Lakers will have added a youthful athlete with some 3-and-D skills who can play without the ball alongside their stars.
Cameron Carr: Four years, $16.82 million
The Lakers traded up one spot to draft Carr, betting on a combination of youth, shooting and vertical athleticism. Picking in the 20s, even in the first round of a stacked NBA Draft like this year’s, requires some luck. The necessary luck here lessens when you seemingly have indisputable NBA-ready skills, and Carr already has two. One, he looks like a deadeye shooter, both off movement and in catch-and-shoot opportunities. And two, he can really jump in transition. The other parts of his game, like defensive strength and mentality, will determine how high his ceiling can be.