Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Los Angeles Lakers.
Signings:
- Standard contracts:
- LeBron James: Four years, maximum salary ($153.31MM). Fourth-year player option. Signed using cap room.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: One year, $12MM. Signed using cap room.
- Rajon Rondo: One year, $9MM. Signed using cap room.
- Lance Stephenson: One year, $4.45MM. Signed using cap room.
- Michael Beasley: One year, $3.5MM. Signed using room exception.
- JaVale McGee: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Two-way contracts:
- Travis Wear
- Note: Malik Newman signed a two-way contract with the Lakers, but was later waived.
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Joel Berry: One year, minimum salary.
- Jeffrey Carroll: One year, minimum salary.
- Johnathan Williams: One year, minimum salary.
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Isaac Bonga (No. 39 pick) from the Sixers in exchange for the Bulls’ 2019 second-round pick and cash ($1.5MM).
Draft picks:
- 1-25: Moritz Wagner — Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-39: Isaac Bonga — Signed to three-year, $4.08MM contract. First two years guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
- 2-47: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk — Signed to three-year, $4.57MM contract. First year guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using cap room.
Departing players:
- Thomas Bryant (waived)
- Luol Deng (bought out)
- Tyler Ennis (waived)
- Channing Frye
- Andre Ingram
- Brook Lopez
- Gary Payton II (two-way)
- Julius Randle
- Isaiah Thomas
Other offseason news:
- Hired Kurt Rambis as senior basketball advisor.
Salary cap situation:
- Used cap space; now over the cap.
- Carrying approximately $102.8MM in guaranteed salaries.
- $949K of room exception still available ($3.5MM used on Michael Beasley).
Check out the Los Angeles Lakers’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
Only two years after the Lakers’ old management group missed out on its top free agent targets and handed out massive four-year contracts to Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng, the new-look front office led by Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka landed arguably the biggest free agent in franchise history.
It’s worth acknowledging that Johnson and Pelinka had a major head start in their recruiting efforts — the opportunity to live in Los Angeles and to play for an iconic franchise were significant factors in LeBron James‘ decision to join the Lakers. Still, LeBron’s move to L.A. wasn’t considered a fait accompli leading up to July 1, and the club’s front office deserves credit for putting together a situation and a roster that appealed to the NBA’s best player.
If the Lakers didn’t have a young core made of promising youngsters like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart, L.A. almost certainly wouldn’t have been as attractive a destination to James. The same can be said for the Lakers’ cap flexibility, which puts the team in a great position to lure another star to Los Angeles within the next year or two.
By securing a commitment from James on the first day of 2018’s free agent period, the Lakers ensured they’d be among the biggest winners of the NBA offseason, and set the organization on a fascinating new path for the next several years. Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out how best to fill out the roster around LeBron and return to legit title contention.