When the word “flurry” doesn’t suffice because the NBA trade season was more like a Nor’Easter of player movement that scarcely was able to keep pace with the number of big time extensions doled out you just gird your loins and ride it out. When the dust settled this morning, for the most part, I figured now would be a good time to write about these new-look Los Angeles Lakers. I have to preface this by saying I liked all of the moves we made, they all made sense in terms of our team identity and skill set. In short…
- Dennis Schroder: This guy is a perfect fit for everything we’re doing these days. Solid scorer, solid passer, tough as nails and getting better. The best thing, in my opinion, about this signing is that it adds another dynamic isolation scorer/play-maker to the roster that over relies on the brilliance of LeBron James with the ball in his hands and the scoring prowess of Anthony Davis. Getting Schroder gives us a legitimate 3rd option when both aforementioned players are on the court and a solid 1st option should they both be on the bench. His defense is solid, maybe not spectacular but on our squad you just need to out the effort in and the results will bear out. In a familiar theme this off-season he also brings a ton of grit to the team, as well. While he’s not the passer that Rajon Rondo is he’s a capable PG who hits the open man and creates offense simply off his penetration into the lane.
- Montrezl Harrell. Grit defines this guy. Trez is all energy all the time, while he had a disappointing Bubble showing (likely why he was available at the price he was) there’s a reason why he’s the reigning 6th Man of the Year. He plays hard, does all the little things and can play the 4 or 5. While not an outside threat Trez is a great finisher and will be a solid pick and roll partner for Dennis Schroder and James. Personally I’m pretty excited about this pickup, I love gritty hard-nosed players and Harrell checks all those boxes.
- Wes Matthews. A great pickup to address scoring off the bench. With Kyle Kuzma’s shot firmly lodged in the “streaky” category (along with Alex Caruso) the Lakers did themselves right picking up a shooter of Matthews’ caliber. While not one of the legendary marksmen in the modern NBA, Wes is a capable scorer and solid defender. That fits perfectly into what our bench needs and we have an even better backup for LeBron than we did previously. Wes is still coming back from a significant Achilles, as evidenced in his below-average season last year, and could be a huge addition if he can get back any of his pre-injury mojo.
- This one just dropped, Markieff Morris. ‘Kieff earned a spot in the heart of Laker fans with his solid showing against Houston and contributions throughout the Bubble playoffs. Knows his role, plays his role and does well in his role and that’s no small thing in the modern NBA. With Morris back in the fold (and I realize he’s not necessarily a ‘new-look Laker’ but this being his first full season qualifies, in my humble opinion) the Lakers bring back one of the key cogs in our small ball lineup. Great pickup by Rob and Co.
- Marc Gasol. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Gasol brothers. Love their skill set, love their approach to the game and they’re both winners at every level of the game. While we may not be getting the Memphis ‘grit and grind’ version of the younger Gasol we’re certainly getting a rugged tough interior defender who can handle the likes of Jokic and other rugged, skilled big men in the game. His ability to can threes makes him the perfect fit alongside AD and LBJ and with guys like Harrell and Morris on the squad we won’t need huge minutes from Marc. Save him for the playoffs along with James and any other vet that needs to be eased into the season.
The return of KCP certainly gets honorable mention but it’s not like Laker fans are unfamiliar with what he brings to the table. Alfonzo McKinnie brings in another certifiable defense oriented small forward and for all this we still have Kuzma, Caruso and THT on the roster meaning we’ve not utterly dismissed the value of home grown talent. All in all, for the amount of time everyone had to prepare and the small window within which all of these deals happened I think the Laker front office deserves an A-/B+ for these moves. A better grade may be retroactively rewarded based on the outcome.
Go Lakers.
Didn’t want this to be too long but to add onto the post…
Bringing back KCP is huge for three reasons: continuity, returned our 3rd or 4th best playoff performer and KCP has been a Laker for a minute. It’s nice to see a player or three who was with us in the bad times rewarded with a run of good fun. But, along with the players we brought in and assuming AD resigns with us our starting 5 is going to be merciless:
PG: Schroder
SG: Caldwell-Pope
SF: LeBron James
PF Anthony Davis
C: Marc Gasol
Backup Guard is where we’re fairly thin. It’s Caruso right now, not much else proven on the roster. Matthews may lack the overall speed to match up with players in that slot on most teams. When it’s the ‘old shooter guy who we can hide a dude on defense and LeBron is resting’ he’ll be fine at the 2 but he needs to be able to restore some lateral quickness to hang with most 2’s. Same goes for Talen Horton-Tucker. I have high hopes but if one is honest the kid has a lot to prove at the NBA level. The biggest one is scoring consistently to some degree, doesn’t need to be a 15 ppg scorer but if he can get 10ish in limited minutes without shooting at a high volume I think he can hang defensively on most shooting guards. Wouldn’t mind adding one more guard, especially if they have a modicum of ball handling skills. I thiiiiink Reggie Jackson is still out there…lotta action still happenin…
With the news that Cousins is going to Houston we’re also a little thin at center. While we have some gritty under-sized dudes in terms of true bangers at the 7 foot height it’s really just Marc and AD. That would be fine for the playoffs but for the regular season, with COVID and the odd schedule I feel like we need another big. 40 year old Pau Gasol is an option but an old option. Can we nab Dwayne Dedmon? Not sure but it’s worth a try.
Frankly Jordan Bell and Quinn Cook, two players we already had on the roster, wouldn’t have been terrible fits but we’d need to bring back Cookie on the vet min or hard cap. Bell would fit into the under-sized category. But both would have been serviceable. That second year for Marc is a real stickler… He’s worth it though…I hope.
I’m pretty much in to “Whatever Lola wants, Rob gets.” Lol
Great ‘Fiver’ as usual, Jamie. I agree with including Keef as one of the five although he did play with us a few games and the playoffs last season.
(1) Agree on Dennis the Menace being a perfect fit. Love his grit and dog. Ain’t gonna back down from anyone. I also think he’s a lot better defender than given credit for and with a coach like Vogel and team leaders like LeBron and AD, I expect him to be even better. I have him starting because that was an issue with him in OKC but I won’t be complaining if Frank wants to start Matthews instead as Green’s replacement.
(2) I’ll go out of order and comment on Wesley next. I’m one who thinks, despite the Achilles, he’s one fine defender and an upgrade over Danny Green because of his lateral quickness and ability to stay in front of ball handlers, something Danny no longer could seem to do. I also like Wes’ 6′ 9″ wingspan, which he used well against LeBron and Kawhi last year. I think both Dennis and Wes are underrated as defenders. Personally, I would like to see Frank alternate them as starters depending on the matchups. Small quick point, Dennis. Big wing scorer, Wes.
(3) Trezz is going to surprise everybody and my silver lining has him underrated defensively too. He was the scapegoat for the Clippers’ superstars’ failures. Playing next to AD will solve a lot of his problems as will a great defensive coach and defensive team leaders. Like LakerFilmRoom’s video, Trezz is going to put intense pressure on the rim and glass against opponents. He knows where his bread is buttered and will be highly motivated.
Ha. Just remembered to switch to Word so as not to lost this comment.
(4) Markieff. This was so damn important as he was the catalyst to the Lakers playoff transformation into a modern offensive and defensive team … and the reason why JaVale and Dwight are no longer on this team. I know we had our differences on this subject but the team’s rejection of Dwight and trading of JaVale pretty much reflect what Vogel and the front office learned in the playoffs. Yes, size is still important but it also needs to shoot unless it’s an unstoppable energizer bunny like Trezz.
(5) Marc Gasol. I know Gerald thought Rob made a mistake going after Harrell and not waiting for the market on Ibaka to fall but Rob made the right move to land Trezz and then pulled off the perfect counter to Ibaka going to the Clippers by signing Gasol, who is a better fit for the Lakers style and legacy wise. The big difference between the two is BBIQ and playmaking ability, two things Marc has over Serge in spades. Gasol signing was the move to make everything else better by filling a huge hole.
I do like McKinnie and I wonder if the Lakers might be advised to think twice about Jordan Bell. I loved him coming out of Oregon and thought he had great potential as a defender and rim protector. Very quick jumper. He was great on the Warriors and could be the missing shot blocker. He’s undersized but has the speed and quickness to be a Draymond Green kind of center. Don’t see anybody out whom I would take over him.
Last three spots: Jordan Bell at the five for defense, maybe Dion Waiters at the two for Klutch and continuity, and Jared Dudley, TBFMITL! (The Best Fifteenth Man In The League).
Aloha Jaime, nice post. Had an interesting thought. Looking at the remaining 5’s outside of Whiteside is pretty underwhelming. Pau couldn’t play last year because of season ending foot surgery. If he has fully recovered I wonder if he has 10 to 12 minutes a game left in him. That could be fun if he could.