Los Angeles Lakers

Heading into the 2022 offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers had a lot of work to do after their disastrous year. Injuries played a role in their lost season, with Anthony Davis playing just 40 games and LeBron James suiting up for 56.

But the Lakers' issues ran deeper than health. Their defense was brutal. Their offense wasn't much better. Russell Westbrook never found a way to fit with Davis and James, and Los Angeles had a net rating of minus-3.5 when the trio was on the court.

The Lakers have been mentioned as having a heavy interest in Kyrie Irving, but as of this writing, there is no trade forthcoming.

Being over the cap, Los Angeles was never going to be a big player in free agency. That is what cost the Lakers Malik Monk. Being limited, they had to look for some deals of the bargain variety, and those rarely completely change a team's destiny.

So far this offseason, the Lakers have signed Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant. They also drafted Max Christie 35th overall.

With it looking more and more likely that Westbrook—not Irving—will be on the Lakers roster on opening night, will these new additions fix their biggest issues?

Shooting

One of the biggest problems for the offense last season was a lack of spacing. Defenses would pack the paint and could live with outside shots from Westbrook and Davis, as the Lakers ranked 22nd league-wide in three-point shooting percentage.

L.A.'s best shooter, who attempted more than four threes per night, was Monk, who is gone for Sacramento. After that, it was Wayne Ellington and Carmelo Anthony.

The Lakers losing their best shooter from last season means it is critical that they replace that.

Narrator: They did not.

Brown is the best shooter of the new additions, coming in at 35.3 percent from three on just two attempts per game. That was the best three-point percentage over his four-year career, as he is a 33.7 career three-point shooter on low volume. Getting Brown after his best shooting season, the Lakers are betting on that trajectory to continue going up.

After Brown, Anderson came in second, shooting 32.2 percent last season. His three-point shooting has been up and down during his three-year career. As a rookie, he shot 34.8 percent from deep and made a big leap his sophomore season at 40.2 percent. However, he also never has attempted more than 1.8 such shots per game.

The Lakers might be better served using Anderson more as a playmaker than a spot shooter, which would make it difficult to play him with Westbrook. He could be used more as a sub for Westbrook than in the same lineups with him.

The next wing the Lakers brought in has an interesting shooting history. In his first two years in the NBA, Walker shot 38.5 and 40.6 percent from three on low volume. In the last two seasons, he has become a more high-volume shooter, averaging 4.7 and 5.0 attempts, but his efficiency went down.

He shot 35.5 percent two seasons ago, but last year he shot a career-low 31.4 percent.

Prior to tearing his ACL, another new pickup, Bryant, was on track for a career shooting percentage from three. He was shooting 42.9 percent in the 10 games during the 2020-21 season, which was following up his 40.7 percent the previous season. Unfortunately, all of that fell apart last season as he worked his way back from the injury, and he shot 28.6 percent.

There are hopes he can revive his shooting in L.A. and become a stretch big. It is all dependent on a small sample size, but the idea of him stretching the floor could open up some space.

The Lakers needed to add shooting to their roster even before losing Monk. Los Angeles added some young athletic wings, but none of them have consistently shot well on a high enough volume for Los Angeles to believe they can spread the floor.

But at least if these guys can't shoot, they'll be able to improve the defense. Right?

Defense

Besides the poor offense, L.A. needed to improve its perimeter defense. The team was undersized on the perimeter and was not a defensive-focused unit. Nobody paired well with Westbrook, who often gambled and missed rotations last season.

Walker, Anderson and Brown are all 6'6", athletic wings who should improve the perimeter defense and allow them to cover for Westbrook. Walker and Anderson are the better defenders over Brown.

This past season with Anderson on the court, the Warriors had a defensive rating of 106.9. He has a good understanding of when to rotate and will make the winning plays like diving on the floor. He might be overmatched on most nights as a primary perimeter defender, but he will give the Lakers his full effort.

Walker has all the tools to be a good one-on-one defender. He has the size and length to go with the athleticism; he just needs to put it all together. He is a better on-ball defender than an off-ball one. Walker can stay with guards such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but can also lose sight of his man off the ball and get beat on a back cut.

He has promise, but it'll be up to the Lakers to develop him in one season.

Brown is the weakest of the wings defensively the Lakers signed. He was coming from the Bulls, who were loaded with defensive talent with former Lakers Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball and rookie Ayo Dosunmu. He has yet to have to be relied upon defensively. This season he will be, and with his size, he should be able to at least slow up guards and use his length to contest.

Damian Jones does not bring much offensive firepower, but he is a serviceable backup big. His per-36 numbers from last season would have him average 8.7 rebounds. He is an upgrade over Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan, who played the role of Davis' backup.

The 2019-20 Bryant would be a great fit defensively for the Lakers. That season in 24.9 minutes he averaged 1.1 blocks and 7.2 rebounds. It is unlikely Los Angeles is getting that Bryant post-ACL tear. He has played just 37 games since then, and it is tough to expect him to be that player.

Assuming good health for Davis (which is a big if), both Jones and Bryant will play more of a supporting role—especially in close games when the Lakers will likely play small.

The Lakers needed to get better this offseason. The good news is they have gotten younger and added more athleticism. The defense should improve just by having bigger wings to defend on the perimeter. They probably are not a top-10 defensive team, but improving to the middle of the pack from 22nd in defensive rating could be enough to get the Lakers back in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, they have not added enough shooting. If Westbrook remains a Laker on opening night, it is likely he will start alongside Davis and James. Of the wings they brought in, only one shot above 35 percent from three last season.

As long as James and Davis can stay healthy, the Lakers will be good enough. But these moves will not vault them into contender status.

Mo Dakhil spent six years with the Los Angeles Clippers and two years with the San Antonio Spurs as a video coordinator, as well as three years with the Australian men's national team. Follow him on Twitter, @MoDakhil_NBA.

LeBron James is about the enter his 20th year in the NBA and by all accounts, it looks as if he'll almost be as spry as he was during his second season in the league.

But looking ahead, the Los Angeles Lakers will only go as far as their other superstar, Anthony Davis, can take them.

With that in mind, the Lakers are focused on making moves that will set him up for success next season.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, free agent Thomas Bryant has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the team that gave him his first contract as a rookie.

Haynes also reported that Bryant will be given an opportunity to win the starting center position.

Ideally, that could free up Davis to play his favorite position: power forward.

"I like playing the four, I’m not even going to sugarcoat it," Davis said during his introductory press conference back in 2019. "I don’t really like playing the five."

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka then agreed that the best scenario for Davis was playing stretch four.

At the four, Davis can play with more fluidity and his body wouldn't have to endure the banging down low for position on the low block.

It would also help him avoid the injuries that have kept him off the floor, especially last season.

"When Anthony and I first started talking about the roster, he did say, ‘Hey, I would love to have some fives that can bang with some length.’ He’s 26, we want a decade of dominance out of him, so we’ve got to do what’s best for his body," Pelinka added.

"Having him bang against the biggest centers in the West every night is not what’s best for his body or our team or the franchise. Just with his size and length, and [Davis] playing at the four, that length is extraordinary."

While Davis' numbers are better when he plays the center position (27.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 blocks per StatMuse) versus when he takes the court as a power forward (22.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.3 blocks per StatMuse), the most important thing is keeping him on the court, especially to close out the game.

Bryant, if he's up to it, can fill in that center spot to allow Davis the freedom to pop out to the perimeter on offense and defense.

For his career, the Indiana product has averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds.

He's also shooting 59 percent from the field and 37 percent from three, making him the kind of efficient big the Lakers need alongside Davis and James who also won't sacrifice spacing on the floor.

Right now, Bryant has to compete against Damian Jones for the starting 5 position, but if he's fully recovered from the torn ACL he suffered during the 2020-21 season, there's no reason why he can't get it done.

Pelinka is still making moves to improve the Lakers roster, but the signing of Bryant sheds light on the team's plans for Davis.

Now, it'll be up to the eight-time All Star to stay healthy, available and dominant.

The Los Angeles Lakers and free-agent center Thomas Bryant agreed to a one-year contract Tuesday evening, Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported.

Haynes added that Bryant will get the chance to be the team's starting center.

The 24-year-old spent the last four seasons with the Washington Wizards, but he has been limited to just 37 games over the last two seasons and 83 games over the past three because of injuries. The most notable of those issues was a partially torn ACL, which cost him the second half of the 2020-21 campaign and most of 2021-22.

Bryant averaged 7.4 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 52.0 percent from the floor in 27 games last season. He spent much of that time playing on a minutes restriction and then as part of a loaded Wizards frontcourt with Montrezl Harrell and Daniel Gafford.

There were several points when Bryant was the odd man out of the rotation.

With Gafford under a long-term contract extension, Bryant's path toward returning to a starting job in Washington seemed unlikely.

The Wizards were also consistently better on both ends of the floor with the Indiana product on the bench. A change of scenery—on a short-term contract—seemed almost written in stone since he entered free agency.

The Lakers will hope a new team and some additional time to recover from the knee injury will help Bryant return to form as a promising young center.

Bryant will compete to be the starter in a center rotation that also includes Damian Jones, who signed to a one-year contract earlier this offseason.

The Los Angeles Lakers may be the favorites to land Kyrie Irving in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

"The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are actively engaged in discussions on a trade package that would send star point guard Russell Westbrook to Brooklyn in exchange for star point guard Kyrie Irving," Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports wrote Saturday.

This proposed trade would make a ton of sense for the Lakers as it pertains to this season. Westbrook didn't quite fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis under former head coach Frank Vogel. Irving would represent an upgrade from a scheme standpoint—his outside shooting capability would complement James and Davis—and would give Los Angeles a chance to contend in the Western Conference next season.

However, while the Lakers may indeed be engaged with the Nets on a Westbrook-Irving swap, they reportedly haven't taken an aggressive approach.

"The Lakers have yet, I'm told, to be aggressive in trying to put a deal together to get [Kyrie] from Brooklyn," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said Sunday on SportsCenter (h/t ClutchPoints). "That may come, that may evolve with time. But so far right now, there's no traction really on deals with either Irving or Kevin Durant."

There are perhaps a couple of reasons why the Lakers aren't pushing for a quick resolution to an Irving deal.

The first is that Brooklyn isn't incentivized to move rapidly. The Nets are also dealing with Durant's trade request and may first see what KD can bring in a deal before pivoting to Irving—who did opt in for the 2022-23 season.

"I think Kyrie is going to have wait this out because we're not going to really know what the Nets are going to want to trade him for until we see what Kevin Durant gets traded for," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on Get Up (h/t ClutchPoints).

Why push when Irving is likely to remain available for the immediate future?

The other aspect to consider is that Los Angeles has to weigh the long-term implications of acquiring Irving. He may give the Lakers a legitimate chance to chase a title this season—though the Golden State Warriors will still be the team to beat—but what happens beyond 2023?

By opting in on the $36.5 million deal, Irving has essentially put himself on an expiring contract. The Lakers must consider the possibility that he won't stay beyond one season—and also consider the fact that James may not be in Los Angeles next year either.

James' contract runs through the 2022-23 season, and while he can sign an extension in August, the 37-year-old has yet to commit beyond this year.

How would an Irving pursuit affect James' future? That's a question the Lakers brass is likely pondering. James, it seems, is one of the driving forces behind the proposed acquisition.

"James, I’m told, wants to see Irving in Lakerland more than anyone," NBA insider Marc Stein recently wrote (h/t Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll). "What other team, furthermore, has a LeBron-sized personality with the experience to cope with all the chaos that comes with adding Kyrie? James, remember, has often thrived in chaos."

Irving hasn't always been a model teammate, but he did help James win a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. James, it would appear, believes that the duo can replicate that success in Los Angeles. As things stand, however, there's no guarantee that any success could be sustained beyond this season.

This is a huge factor to consider if, for example, the Lakers are forced to part with their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks and/or young players like Talen Horton-Tucker to facilitate a trade.

Giving up more long-term assets would be risky without a commitment from James. If he leaves, Los Angeles is left with Davis, a few support players and no real hope of a quick turnaround.

While agreeing to an Irving trade might not force James to commit to an extension, Los Angeles would surely like to know that he'll return next season before making any sort of firm offer.

On the other hand, any sort of Westbrook-for-Irving swap that doesn't include other Lakers assets would make total sense and be an advantageous opportunity for L.A. However, the Nets are going to do what's best for them and aren't going to jump on such a deal before Durant's future is settled.

This is why any Irving-to-L.A. trade will take time to sort out. As long as the Lakers are making Irving their top offseason target, they'll need to be patient. They'll also need to seek clarity on James' future and continue considering what makes sense for the long-term outlook of the franchise.

Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss reflected on Kobe Bryant's legacy Sunday while potentially sending a coded message about the franchise's machinations behind the scenes.

"I miss KB. He would understand and explain everything that I’m not allowed to," Buss tweeted. "Honestly he was the greatest Laker ever. He understood team over self."

I miss KB. He would understand and explain everything that I’m not allowed to. Honestly he was the greatest Laker ever. He understood team over self. Meaning your rewards would come if you valued team goals over your own then everything would fall into place. All can reply.

— Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) July 4, 2022

Some will inevitably take issue with Buss' belief that Bryant "understood team over self."

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal famously didn't get along as teammates, and O'Neal eventually requested a trade. Bryant also briefly pushed for an exit himself before backtracking, and he considered signing with the Los Angeles Clippers at one point.

More than anything, though, many will wonder what Buss is "not allowed" to say and if it has something to do with a certain 18-time All-Star and four-time MVP.

LeBron James will be a free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season, and he doesn't appear to be in a hurry to sign an extension.

Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus reported June 13 that people outside the Lakers "do not expect the team to get clarity from James ahead of the draft and free agency."

During an appearance on Get Up on June 30, ESPN's Brian Windhorst added that James is "just going to be a spectator for the next six weeks and see what the Lakers are able to do." He explained how that was "not necessarily a vote of no confidence in the Lakers" but more about ensuring LeBron and the Lakers have maximum flexibility.

Getting a firm commitment from James would help the Lakers' long-term planning. Otherwise, they may further hamstring their future by making moves to win now, only for LeBron to leave in a year.

Of course, Buss might have had a different intended target, though it's tough to see what issue she might have with Russell Westbrook or Anthony Davis. Maybe she's frustrated with general manager Rob Pelinka, who as Bryant's former agent might have received criticism differently compared to when it's coming from the team governor.

Perhaps there wasn't any subtext to Buss' post.

But the timing is odd since the Lakers are in the midst of free agency and reportedly working on a trade for Kyrie Irving.

As much as the Kevin Durant saga has gripped the NBA world, the Lakers are still capable of creating drama like no other team in the league.

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in trading for Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on SportsCenter Sunday that L.A. has yet to be aggressive in their pursuit of the seven-time All-Star (h/t @LakeShowYo).

"The Lakers have yet, I'm told, to be aggressive in trying to put a deal together to get him from Brooklyn," Wojnarowski said in part.

"That may come, that may evolve with time, but so far right now, there's no traction really on deals with either Irving or Kevin Durant."

Irving, 30, averaged 27.4 points and 5.8 assists per game last year. He's played 11 NBA seasons (three with the Nets) and recently exercised his 2022-23 player option to remain in Brooklyn.

The signs have been pointing toward a potential Irving-Lakers union for some time.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported Saturday that the Lakers and Nets were "actively engaged" in talks surrounding Irving and Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook.

Lakers star LeBron James is reportedly "rooting hard" for his team to acquire Irving, per longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein on his Substack.

In addition, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on June 27 that the Lakers were the only known team speaking with the Nets about a sign-and-trade deal for Irving.

Irving is still a Net at the moment, but there could be radical changes coming to the organization after fellow star Kevin Durant requested a trade.

Brooklyn could opt to blow the roster up and start anew at this juncture, ending a disappointing era that began with such promise when KD and Irving joined the team in free agency in 2019.

For now, eyes are on the Nets and Lakers to see if an Irving trade comes to fruition.