**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins

That's not praising the Celtics lol...That's stating the obvious facts.

What the scrappy Celtics doing rn on D and with their current chemistry, we was doing the same exact thing in 2020.

Besides Bron's 30 ppg, is there anything about the Lakers to praise?
 
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Lakers report cards: Grades for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the roster

With the Lakers’ season over, it’s time to review and reflect on each player’s 2021-22 campaign.

Note: Letter grades are subjective and individual to each player (i.e. grading two players with the same grade doesn’t mean they’re as good as each other or performed similarly). Factors used to determine grades include per-game and advanced statistics, lineup data, film review, role, skill set, age, performance relative to expectations and comparing this season with last season, among other determinants.

LeBron James: A
Notable numbers: 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.1 blocks, 61.9 true shooting percentage

We have never seen a 37-year-old as great as James. He’s defied Father Time each season, breaking seemingly every statistical milestone and setting new records that didn’t previously exist.

The 2021-22 season was not only James’ best offensive season in Los Angeles, but one of the best of his career. Period. His 30.3 points per game were a career-best, his 62.0 2-point percentage was the second-best of his career, and his 3.7 3-point makes per 100 possessions were the most of his career. James improved as a 3-point shooter and mid-range shooter while remaining an effective driver and finisher despite his diminished athleticism.

James’ defensive effort waned — and was a large part of some of the Lakers’ worst defensive stretches of the season — but that’s somewhat excusable given his age and offensive burden. He played more power forward and center than he ever had in his career, changing his responsibilities on both ends of the floor. Always an elite cutter, James added new wrinkles as a screener and roll man.

Had the Lakers’ record been better, James would’ve been in the MVP conversation for the third straight season. The biggest knock on his season, aside from missing 26 games because of injury, was his central role in the disastrous Westbrook acquisition.

The greatest tragedy of this season is the Lakers wasting one of James’ final great seasons. It’s unclear how many more years he has left at this level. But it’d be foolish to doubt him as he continues to demonstrate unprecedented longevity on his quest for a fifth title and passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 1 on the all-time scoring list.

Anthony Davis: B-
Notable numbers: 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.3 blocks, 1.2 steals, 57.8 true shooting %

For the second straight season, Davis’ campaign was derailed by multiple injuries. Similar to 2020-21, his 2021-22 injuries were freak occurrences out of his control. Perhaps Davis’ additional bulk and increased time at center and closer to the basket had some cumulative effect. But these things happen. They have just happened to happen to Davis more often than most other players, however unfair that reality is.

From a numbers perspective, Davis was actually better than last season — arguably his worst season since his rookie season — and solid for a No. 2 option. He posted career-best finishing numbers within three feet of the basket and played the second-most minutes at center of his career (and most in Los Angeles). He did his best to erase the mistakes of his defensively challenged teammates, and the Lakers’ defense was better with him on the floor.

Nonetheless, the Lakers have expected more from him — especially when he’s actually been available. (The revisionist history on the Davis trade is silly, of course. The Lakers won a championship. They would and should remake that trade 10 out of 10 times, regardless of how it plays out from this point on.) His jump shot has abandoned him for two seasons. He’s played in only 76 regular-season games over the past two seasons. The Lakers should be better in the Davis-on, James-off minutes.

The concern moving forward is that Davis has accrued an assortment of lower-body injuries by the midpoint of his career. He’s only 28 but doesn’t always move that way. He’s still a transcendent talent, but it’s unclear if he can be the centerpiece of the Lakers’ post-LeBron future. He was once viewed as a top-three player; he’s now closer to the top-15 range, depending on which version the Lakers are getting.

Russell Westbrook: D
Notable numbers: 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 51.2 true shooting %

The Westbrook fit was always awful. But even the biggest skeptics didn’t see it playing out this poorly, with the Lakers missing the Play-In tournament and Westbrook routinely being booed by his home crowd after air-balls and backboard-clanking jumpers.

Westbrook regressed as a shooter, finisher and defender in Los Angeles en route to arguably the worst statistical season of his career. He never adjusted the way he promised James and Davis he would before the season. He didn’t cut or move consistently off the ball, he didn’t screen and he was indifferent defensively. Westbrook was an actively harmful player on both ends of the floor. His per-game averages belie the negative impact of his near-league-worst jump-shooting percentages, mind-boggling turnovers and poor defense.

The notion that Westbrook was giving everything he had while on the floor — a common refrain from TV announcers and analysts — was debatable. And if it was true, his best clearly wasn’t close to good enough. Worst of all, he never took accountability, deflecting and putting the blame elsewhere — his coaches, the media, the fans, the refs. When he criticized his performance, he referenced his previous triple-double averages — which have always been meaningless — as his barometer for judging his play.

While he certainly failed to live up to the lofty expectations of the third star on a championship-level team — the Lakers were just 20-37 in the games he played without one or both of James and Davis — he was also set up for failure given the surrounding pieces and former head coach Frank Vogel’s preferred style for defensive-minded players and two-big lineups.

But Westbrook is an aging former superstar who hasn’t accepted that he’s no longer a superstar. He’s no longer capable of carrying a team. He needs to embrace role-player dirty work and a smaller offensive role. He’s expected to be in a different uniform next season.

Malik Monk: A-
Notable numbers: 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 47.3 field-goal %, 39.1 3-point %

The Lakers gambled on Monk last summer — the Dallas Mavericks were the only other team to contact him — after pursuing him at consecutive trade deadlines. The decision paid off in the form of one of the better veteran minimum contracts this season.

At first, it looked like Monk might get squeezed in the perimeter rotation. But the Lakers’ preseason injuries to Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Wayne Ellington and Trevor Ariza created a chance for him to earn playing time and he made the most of his opportunity. He emerged as a reliable fourth option behind the three stars, and proved he’s a three-level scorer (at the rim, in the midrange and behind the 3-point line).

In particular, Monk’s finishing at the rim — accentuated by his highlight-reel transition dunks — improved dramatically. He also grew as a playmaker over the second half of the season. The joy he played with was infectious. He quickly became a fan favorite.

Monk was arguably the third-best Laker this season. He fluctuated between being the Lakers’ sixth man and starting shooting guard but is best suited for a bench role given his subpar defense and slight frame. His free agency is one of the biggest questions of the Lakers’ offseason.

Carmelo Anthony: B+
Notable numbers: 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 37.5 3-point %

Anthony was one of the few bright spots of the Lakers’ season. He did exactly what he was supposed to: Drain 3-pointers at a high level, occasionally score against mismatches inside the arc, and compete on the glass and defensively as best he could despite his physical limitations. He was a calming presence inside the locker room. Lakers fans cheered loudly anytime he checked in and gave him multiple standing ovations.

Anthony tailed off over the second half of the season, as his 3-point shooting cooled down (just 35.3 percent after Jan. 1) and the larger-than-expected workload presumably wore him out. Opponents began to target him more — rookie Jalen Green boldly admitted the Rockets’ game plan was to attack Anthony as much as possible during a shocking Houston win — rendering him a defensive liability during competitive fourth quarters.

That’s to be expected with a 37-year-old forward. On some nights, the Lakers had no choice but to play him and deal with the consequences. Anthony is basically a floor-spacing big at this point of his Hall of Fame career. When he’s making his 3s, he can single-handily swing a quarter, if not a game (which he did in November and December). But he shouldn’t be a closer, and there are some matchups that he just can’t play in.

Austin Reaves: A-
Notable numbers: 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 31.7 3-point %

The collective reaction to the Lakers signing Reaves after James’ players-only minicamp in Las Vegas and ahead of training camp was “Who?!” Within weeks, the conversation changed to: “Why isn’t Reaves playing more?”

Reaves, an undrafted rookie wing, quickly become one of the best examples of the Lakers’ outstanding scouting, especially with widely overlooked prospects. His versatility brought a shape-shifting element to lineups. He could defend multiple positions, execute Vogel’s team defense concepts, compete on the glass and for loose balls, knockdown 3s (though he struggled as a shooter, especially between January and March), ignite fastbreaks and serve as a secondary ballhandler/playmaker. He did all of the dirty work, including taking a shot to the face seemingly every night.

Reaves, Monk and Gabriel were the only rotation players with a positive net rating. Like Alex Caruso, his spiritual predecessor, Reaves developed uncanny chemistry with James. Reaves has compared his game to Joe Ingles’ and there are certainly shades of Ingles there. Reaves’ poor 3-point shooting eventually became an issue, and Vogel felt he hit the rookie wall toward the end of the season. But the rookie was in the conversation for the third-best Laker this season, which shows both his remarkable readiness and the degree to which things went wrong for Los Angeles.

Stanley Johnson: B+
Notable numbers: 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 31.4 3-point %

Johnson arrived in Los Angeles during the team’s COVID outbreak. His effort and energy immediately made an impact, and he impressively defended James Harden in his debut in the Christmas Day game. From that point, Johnson held a somewhat consistent role as the most versatile non-James/Davis option in the rotation.

He was an essential part of the Lakers’ center-less identity, capable of handling big-man responsibilities next to James in a way that Anthony and Trevor Ariza couldn’t. His care factor, to use a Vogel term, was always high. He also displayed unique playmaking chops as someone who could attack defenses off the dribble and find cutters and spot-up shooters.

Johnson openly discussed the difficult transition he made from a former lottery pick to a journeyman role player. He’s accepted his strengths and weaknesses and carved out a niche. His shooting limitations cap him as a bench player on the backend of the rotation on a contender, but the Lakers can proudly boast that the Johnson signing was one of the successful moves they made that prevented their season from going off the rails even earlier.

Talen Horton-Tucker: D
Notable numbers: 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, 41.6 field-goal %, 26.9 3-point %

Behind Westbrook, Horton-Tucker is probably the biggest disappointment of the season.

The Lakers committed to him as their fourth-highest-paid player, which played into their decision to offer Alex Caruso a below-market value contract and lose him to the Chicago Bulls. Despite Los Angeles’ confidence in Horton-Tucker’s potential, he was arguably not one of the team’s eight best rotation players this season (he was clearly behind James, Davis, Monk, Reaves, Johnson, Westbrook and Anthony). That’s a problem for a team that had so few players making above the minimum.

He struggled as a secondary playmaker and in an off-the-ball role, regressing in most shooting categories and posting career-worst numbers across the board. The fit with Westbrook just wasn’t there. With defenses aware of his driving and finishing preferences, Horton-Tucker adjusted by improving his floater arsenal. But the Lakers needed more from him. An ankle injury over the last few weeks of the season didn’t help. But he’s often played best when the stakes are lower.

Vogel hyped him up as the team’s potential defensive stopper but that development never transpired. Similar to the defense of Westbrook, Horton-Tucker wasn’t put in a position to succeed. He needs a role in which he has the ball — something the Lakers can’t really provide. Monk, Reaves and Johnson stole some of his minutes. He’s still only 21.

He continues to show flashes on both ends — including his 40-point masterpiece in Golden State at the end of the season — but he needs to perform more consistently moving forward. His grade may seem a bit harsh, but his expectations are higher than most on the team considering his contract and the Lakers’ investment in him.

Dwight Howard: C
Notable numbers: 6.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 61.2 field-goal %

He wasn’t the same player he was a couple of years ago, but Howard served a purpose as the most available center on the roster. He wasn’t able to be productive consistently — and his defensive peaks weren’t as high as in 2019-20 — but he helped the Lakers attempt to tread water, including after the waiving of DeAndre Jordan and during Davis’ absences. He’s still a physical force in the paint, moving opposing bigs out of the way for rebounds and refusing to cede ground in the post defensively.

Howard went from an option at center to the only true option toward the end of the season. That was too much of a workload for the 36-year-old, as Howard wasn’t able to string together multiple effective games in a row. His slippage was notable on the defensive end, where he could no longer move his feet or deter shots as well as he did previously. He’s a high-level third-string center who was asked to do much more.

Avery Bradley: C-
Notable numbers: 6.4 points, 0.9 steals, 39.0 3-point %

The Lakers scooped Bradley up off of waivers after he lost out to Gary Payton II for the Warriors’ 15th roster spot. Considering the context, Bradley was a successful addition, insofar as he had productive moments as an on-ball hound and a 3-point shooter.

However, Vogel’s preference for Bradley over Monk, Reaves and even Horton-Tucker, at times, was detrimental to the Lakers’ lineups by virtually any measure. His defense, always overrated statistically but especially so in recent seasons, has declined as he’s no longer as quick or explosive as he once was. He’s solid pressuring the ball, but is below-average in just about every other category: rotating, boxing out and tracking shooters around screens. He’s become a good shooter, but defenses will happily ignore him, clogging the paint.

Bradley was fine in a role similar to Ellington or Bazemore — a matchup-dependent rotation player who wasn’t in the rotation every night. But as a starter who routinely played 20-plus minutes, he was overtaxed and underperformed. Though not his fault, his minutes often came at the expense of better players. Vogel’s perception of Bradley never aligned with the reality of his performance, and that was probably Vogel’s biggest rotational sin as a coach.

Kendrick Nunn: N/A
Notable numbers: 0 games played

Nunn earns an incomplete grade, though this could easily be an F considering he missed the entire season. He was the team’s projected sixth man, a combo guard who could spell Westbrook as well as play alongside him. But a mysterious bone bruise in his knee kept the Lakers’ fifth-highest paid player and primary free-agency addition from ever touching the floor. He’s already admitted he’s going to pick up his team option for next season, when he could be a prime candidate for a bounce-back season or a trade sweetener, depending on his recovery.

Wenyen Gabriel: B
Notable numbers: 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 50.5 field goal %, 26.1 3-point %

Gabriel was the exact type of player archetype the Lakers’ roster lacked in the frontcourt: young, long and athletic with a 3-and-D skillset. After bouncing around the league with several teams over several seasons, he played career-best basketball with the Lakers, jumping from a two-way contract onto the official roster. That isn’t easy.

He was active and energetic, similar to Johnson and Reaves. He’s best on defense against mobile bigs, but he’s capable of sliding onto bigger wings and more traditional centers if needed. His 3-point shooting never materialized, and his slim frame makes him both foul-prone and an easy target against stronger and/or more physical opponents. Gabriel can grow into being a fourth or fifth big, depending on his shot and strength development.

DJ Augustin: C
Notable numbers: 5.3 points, 42.6 3-point %

The Rondo trade left the Lakers thin in terms of traditional ball-handlers. Aside from James and Westbrook, they needed some additional playmaking chops to help juice the lackluster bench offense. Augustin is a slightly above-league-average passer for a point guard who can execute all basic reads. He’s also a deadeye shooter who swung a few stretches with his shot-making.

However, his defensive limitations render him a spot backup who probably shouldn’t be in the rotation at this point of his career. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 but resembles a 5-foot-10 player around his similarly-sized peers. Expectations were relatively low and Augustin met, if not surpassed them. But the Lakers were only worse with Bazemore on the floor during Augustin’s tenure.

Wayne Ellington: C-
Notable numbers: 6.7 points, 38.9 3-point %

The Lakers began training camp with three obvious starters: James, Davis and Westbrook. It was unclear if they were going to go small or big with the rest of the group. Regardless, some around the team felt Ellington was the best backcourt choice, considering the group’s desperate need for spot-up 3-point shooting, off-ball movement and gravity.

A hamstring injury cost Ellington the first eight games of the season and he never fully regained a spot in the rotation. He began collecting DNP-CDs after Christmas (following a six-game slump in which he shot 27.0 percent on 3s), playing in just 17 more games. In the aggregate, his shooting was satisfactory, but it rarely felt like he was making a difference. Vogel often cited his defense as a limiting factor.

Ultimately, he was rendered a non-essential part of the rotation because of the construction of the roster. There were only so many perimeter minutes available, and the Lakers needed to try to emphasize defense, length and athleticism with those spots — all attributes Ellington lacks.

Kent Bazemore: D+
Notable numbers: 3.4 points, 36.3 3-point %

At the beginning of the season, it seemed as if Bazemore was conceivably going to be the fourth-most important Laker because so few players could replicate his theoretical 3-and-D skill set. He had impressed in Golden State the previous season (40.8 percent 3-point shooting) and turned down more money from the Warriors for a bigger role with the Lakers. He filled a void as a long-limbed wing who could defend multiple positions.

Despite earning the starting backcourt spot alongside Westbrook in training camp, Bazemore’s tenure in the rotation was short-lived. He was benched after 13 games and never played 15-plus minutes in more than two consecutive games after that. His erratic play — from fouls to turnovers to shot selection — frustrated the coaching staff. Based on on-off lineup data, he had the worst net rating differential on the roster (only Rondo and Jordan were worse overall). He was one of the Lakers’ bigger free-agency misses.
 
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Lakers report cards: Grades for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the roster

With the Lakers’ season over, it’s time to review and reflect on each player’s 2021-22 campaign.

Note: Letter grades are subjective and individual to each player (i.e. grading two players with the same grade doesn’t mean they’re as good as each other or performed similarly). Factors used to determine grades include per-game and advanced statistics, lineup data, film review, role, skill set, age, performance relative to expectations and comparing this season with last season, among other determinants.

LeBron James: A
Notable numbers: 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.1 blocks, 61.9 true shooting percentage

We have never seen a 37-year-old as great as James. He’s defied Father Time each season, breaking seemingly every statistical milestone and setting new records that didn’t previously exist.

The 2021-22 season was not only James’ best offensive season in Los Angeles, but one of the best of his career. Period. His 30.3 points per game were a career-best, his 62.0 2-point percentage was the second-best of his career, and his 3.7 3-point makes per 100 possessions were the most of his career. James improved as a 3-point shooter and mid-range shooter while remaining an effective driver and finisher despite his diminished athleticism.

James’ defensive effort waned — and was a large part of some of the Lakers’ worst defensive stretches of the season — but that’s somewhat excusable given his age and offensive burden. He played more power forward and center than he ever had in his career, changing his responsibilities on both ends of the floor. Always an elite cutter, James added new wrinkles as a screener and roll man.

Had the Lakers’ record been better, James would’ve been in the MVP conversation for the third straight season. The biggest knock on his season, aside from missing 26 games because of injury, was his central role in the disastrous Westbrook acquisition.

The greatest tragedy of this season is the Lakers wasting one of James’ final great seasons. It’s unclear how many more years he has left at this level. But it’d be foolish to doubt him as he continues to demonstrate unprecedented longevity on his quest for a fifth title and passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 1 on the all-time scoring list.

Anthony Davis: B-
Notable numbers: 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.3 blocks, 1.2 steals, 57.8 true shooting %

For the second straight season, Davis’ campaign was derailed by multiple injuries. Similar to 2020-21, his 2021-22 injuries were freak occurrences out of his control. Perhaps Davis’ additional bulk and increased time at center and closer to the basket had some cumulative effect. But these things happen. They have just happened to happen to Davis more often than most other players, however unfair that reality is.

From a numbers perspective, Davis was actually better than last season — arguably his worst season since his rookie season — and solid for a No. 2 option. He posted career-best finishing numbers within three feet of the basket and played the second-most minutes at center of his career (and most in Los Angeles). He did his best to erase the mistakes of his defensively challenged teammates, and the Lakers’ defense was better with him on the floor.

Nonetheless, the Lakers have expected more from him — especially when he’s actually been available. (The revisionist history on the Davis trade is silly, of course. The Lakers won a championship. They would and should remake that trade 10 out of 10 times, regardless of how it plays out from this point on.) His jump shot has abandoned him for two seasons. He’s played in only 76 regular-season games over the past two seasons. The Lakers should be better in the Davis-on, James-off minutes.

The concern moving forward is that Davis has accrued an assortment of lower-body injuries by the midpoint of his career. He’s only 28 but doesn’t always move that way. He’s still a transcendent talent, but it’s unclear if he can be the centerpiece of the Lakers’ post-LeBron future. He was once viewed as a top-three player; he’s now closer to the top-15 range, depending on which version the Lakers are getting.

Russell Westbrook: D
Notable numbers: 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 51.2 true shooting %

The Westbrook fit was always awful. But even the biggest skeptics didn’t see it playing out this poorly, with the Lakers missing the Play-In tournament and Westbrook routinely being booed by his home crowd after air-balls and backboard-clanking jumpers.

Westbrook regressed as a shooter, finisher and defender in Los Angeles en route to arguably the worst statistical season of his career. He never adjusted the way he promised James and Davis he would before the season. He didn’t cut or move consistently off the ball, he didn’t screen and he was indifferent defensively. Westbrook was an actively harmful player on both ends of the floor. His per-game averages belie the negative impact of his near-league-worst jump-shooting percentages, mind-boggling turnovers and poor defense.

The notion that Westbrook was giving everything he had while on the floor — a common refrain from TV announcers and analysts — was debatable. And if it was true, his best clearly wasn’t close to good enough. Worst of all, he never took accountability, deflecting and putting the blame elsewhere — his coaches, the media, the fans, the refs. When he criticized his performance, he referenced his previous triple-double averages — which have always been meaningless — as his barometer for judging his play.

While he certainly failed to live up to the lofty expectations of the third star on a championship-level team — the Lakers were just 20-37 in the games he played without one or both of James and Davis — he was also set up for failure given the surrounding pieces and former head coach Frank Vogel’s preferred style for defensive-minded players and two-big lineups.

But Westbrook is an aging former superstar who hasn’t accepted that he’s no longer a superstar. He’s no longer capable of carrying a team. He needs to embrace role-player dirty work and a smaller offensive role. He’s expected to be in a different uniform next season.

Malik Monk: A-
Notable numbers: 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 47.3 field-goal %, 39.1 3-point %

The Lakers gambled on Monk last summer — the Dallas Mavericks were the only other team to contact him — after pursuing him at consecutive trade deadlines. The decision paid off in the form of one of the better veteran minimum contracts this season.

At first, it looked like Monk might get squeezed in the perimeter rotation. But the Lakers’ preseason injuries to Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Wayne Ellington and Trevor Ariza created a chance for him to earn playing time and he made the most of his opportunity. He emerged as a reliable fourth option behind the three stars, and proved he’s a three-level scorer (at the rim, in the midrange and behind the 3-point line).

In particular, Monk’s finishing at the rim — accentuated by his highlight-reel transition dunks — improved dramatically. He also grew as a playmaker over the second half of the season. The joy he played with was infectious. He quickly became a fan favorite.

Monk was arguably the third-best Laker this season. He fluctuated between being the Lakers’ sixth man and starting shooting guard but is best suited for a bench role given his subpar defense and slight frame. His free agency is one of the biggest questions of the Lakers’ offseason.

Carmelo Anthony: B+
Notable numbers: 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 37.5 3-point %

Anthony was one of the few bright spots of the Lakers’ season. He did exactly what he was supposed to: Drain 3-pointers at a high level, occasionally score against mismatches inside the arc, and compete on the glass and defensively as best he could despite his physical limitations. He was a calming presence inside the locker room. Lakers fans cheered loudly anytime he checked in and gave him multiple standing ovations.

Anthony tailed off over the second half of the season, as his 3-point shooting cooled down (just 35.3 percent after Jan. 1) and the larger-than-expected workload presumably wore him out. Opponents began to target him more — rookie Jalen Green boldly admitted the Rockets’ game plan was to attack Anthony as much as possible during a shocking Houston win — rendering him a defensive liability during competitive fourth quarters.

That’s to be expected with a 37-year-old forward. On some nights, the Lakers had no choice but to play him and deal with the consequences. Anthony is basically a floor-spacing big at this point of his Hall of Fame career. When he’s making his 3s, he can single-handily swing a quarter, if not a game (which he did in November and December). But he shouldn’t be a closer, and there are some matchups that he just can’t play in.

Austin Reaves: A-
Notable numbers: 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 31.7 3-point %

The collective reaction to the Lakers signing Reaves after James’ players-only minicamp in Las Vegas and ahead of training camp was “Who?!” Within weeks, the conversation changed to: “Why isn’t Reaves playing more?”

Reaves, an undrafted rookie wing, quickly become one of the best examples of the Lakers’ outstanding scouting, especially with widely overlooked prospects. His versatility brought a shape-shifting element to lineups. He could defend multiple positions, execute Vogel’s team defense concepts, compete on the glass and for loose balls, knockdown 3s (though he struggled as a shooter, especially between January and March), ignite fastbreaks and serve as a secondary ballhandler/playmaker. He did all of the dirty work, including taking a shot to the face seemingly every night.

Reaves, Monk and Gabriel were the only rotation players with a positive net rating. Like Alex Caruso, his spiritual predecessor, Reaves developed uncanny chemistry with James. Reaves has compared his game to Joe Ingles’ and there are certainly shades of Ingles there. Reaves’ poor 3-point shooting eventually became an issue, and Vogel felt he hit the rookie wall toward the end of the season. But the rookie was in the conversation for the third-best Laker this season, which shows both his remarkable readiness and the degree to which things went wrong for Los Angeles.

Stanley Johnson: B+
Notable numbers: 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 31.4 3-point %

Johnson arrived in Los Angeles during the team’s COVID outbreak. His effort and energy immediately made an impact, and he impressively defended James Harden in his debut in the Christmas Day game. From that point, Johnson held a somewhat consistent role as the most versatile non-James/Davis option in the rotation.

He was an essential part of the Lakers’ center-less identity, capable of handling big-man responsibilities next to James in a way that Anthony and Trevor Ariza couldn’t. His care factor, to use a Vogel term, was always high. He also displayed unique playmaking chops as someone who could attack defenses off the dribble and find cutters and spot-up shooters.

Johnson openly discussed the difficult transition he made from a former lottery pick to a journeyman role player. He’s accepted his strengths and weaknesses and carved out a niche. His shooting limitations cap him as a bench player on the backend of the rotation on a contender, but the Lakers can proudly boast that the Johnson signing was one of the successful moves they made that prevented their season from going off the rails even earlier.

Talen Horton-Tucker: D
Notable numbers: 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, 41.6 field-goal %, 26.9 3-point %

Behind Westbrook, Horton-Tucker is probably the biggest disappointment of the season.

The Lakers committed to him as their fourth-highest-paid player, which played into their decision to offer Alex Caruso a below-market value contract and lose him to the Chicago Bulls. Despite Los Angeles’ confidence in Horton-Tucker’s potential, he was arguably not one of the team’s eight best rotation players this season (he was clearly behind James, Davis, Monk, Reaves, Johnson, Westbrook and Anthony). That’s a problem for a team that had so few players making above the minimum.

He struggled as a secondary playmaker and in an off-the-ball role, regressing in most shooting categories and posting career-worst numbers across the board. The fit with Westbrook just wasn’t there. With defenses aware of his driving and finishing preferences, Horton-Tucker adjusted by improving his floater arsenal. But the Lakers needed more from him. An ankle injury over the last few weeks of the season didn’t help. But he’s often played best when the stakes are lower.

Vogel hyped him up as the team’s potential defensive stopper but that development never transpired. Similar to the defense of Westbrook, Horton-Tucker wasn’t put in a position to succeed. He needs a role in which he has the ball — something the Lakers can’t really provide. Monk, Reaves and Johnson stole some of his minutes. He’s still only 21.

He continues to show flashes on both ends — including his 40-point masterpiece in Golden State at the end of the season — but he needs to perform more consistently moving forward. His grade may seem a bit harsh, but his expectations are higher than most on the team considering his contract and the Lakers’ investment in him.

Dwight Howard: C
Notable numbers: 6.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 61.2 field-goal %

He wasn’t the same player he was a couple of years ago, but Howard served a purpose as the most available center on the roster. He wasn’t able to be productive consistently — and his defensive peaks weren’t as high as in 2019-20 — but he helped the Lakers attempt to tread water, including after the waiving of DeAndre Jordan and during Davis’ absences. He’s still a physical force in the paint, moving opposing bigs out of the way for rebounds and refusing to cede ground in the post defensively.

Howard went from an option at center to the only true option toward the end of the season. That was too much of a workload for the 36-year-old, as Howard wasn’t able to string together multiple effective games in a row. His slippage was notable on the defensive end, where he could no longer move his feet or deter shots as well as he did previously. He’s a high-level third-string center who was asked to do much more.

Avery Bradley: C-
Notable numbers: 6.4 points, 0.9 steals, 39.0 3-point %

The Lakers scooped Bradley up off of waivers after he lost out to Gary Payton II for the Warriors’ 15th roster spot. Considering the context, Bradley was a successful addition, insofar as he had productive moments as an on-ball hound and a 3-point shooter.

However, Vogel’s preference for Bradley over Monk, Reaves and even Horton-Tucker, at times, was detrimental to the Lakers’ lineups by virtually any measure. His defense, always overrated statistically but especially so in recent seasons, has declined as he’s no longer as quick or explosive as he once was. He’s solid pressuring the ball, but is below-average in just about every other category: rotating, boxing out and tracking shooters around screens. He’s become a good shooter, but defenses will happily ignore him, clogging the paint.

Bradley was fine in a role similar to Ellington or Bazemore — a matchup-dependent rotation player who wasn’t in the rotation every night. But as a starter who routinely played 20-plus minutes, he was overtaxed and underperformed. Though not his fault, his minutes often came at the expense of better players. Vogel’s perception of Bradley never aligned with the reality of his performance, and that was probably Vogel’s biggest rotational sin as a coach.

Kendrick Nunn: N/A
Notable numbers: 0 games played

Nunn earns an incomplete grade, though this could easily be an F considering he missed the entire season. He was the team’s projected sixth man, a combo guard who could spell Westbrook as well as play alongside him. But a mysterious bone bruise in his knee kept the Lakers’ fifth-highest paid player and primary free-agency addition from ever touching the floor. He’s already admitted he’s going to pick up his team option for next season, when he could be a prime candidate for a bounce-back season or a trade sweetener, depending on his recovery.

Wenyen Gabriel: B
Notable numbers: 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 50.5 field goal %, 26.1 3-point %

Gabriel was the exact type of player archetype the Lakers’ roster lacked in the frontcourt: young, long and athletic with a 3-and-D skillset. After bouncing around the league with several teams over several seasons, he played career-best basketball with the Lakers, jumping from a two-way contract onto the official roster. That isn’t easy.

He was active and energetic, similar to Johnson and Reaves. He’s best on defense against mobile bigs, but he’s capable of sliding onto bigger wings and more traditional centers if needed. His 3-point shooting never materialized, and his slim frame makes him both foul-prone and an easy target against stronger and/or more physical opponents. Gabriel can grow into being a fourth or fifth big, depending on his shot and strength development.

DJ Augustin: C
Notable numbers: 5.3 points, 42.6 3-point %

The Rondo trade left the Lakers thin in terms of traditional ball-handlers. Aside from James and Westbrook, they needed some additional playmaking chops to help juice the lackluster bench offense. Augustin is a slightly above-league-average passer for a point guard who can execute all basic reads. He’s also a deadeye shooter who swung a few stretches with his shot-making.

However, his defensive limitations render him a spot backup who probably shouldn’t be in the rotation at this point of his career. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 but resembles a 5-foot-10 player around his similarly-sized peers. Expectations were relatively low and Augustin met, if not surpassed them. But the Lakers were only worse with Bazemore on the floor during Augustin’s tenure.

Wayne Ellington: C-
Notable numbers: 6.7 points, 38.9 3-point %

The Lakers began training camp with three obvious starters: James, Davis and Westbrook. It was unclear if they were going to go small or big with the rest of the group. Regardless, some around the team felt Ellington was the best backcourt choice, considering the group’s desperate need for spot-up 3-point shooting, off-ball movement and gravity.

A hamstring injury cost Ellington the first eight games of the season and he never fully regained a spot in the rotation. He began collecting DNP-CDs after Christmas (following a six-game slump in which he shot 27.0 percent on 3s), playing in just 17 more games. In the aggregate, his shooting was satisfactory, but it rarely felt like he was making a difference. Vogel often cited his defense as a limiting factor.

Ultimately, he was rendered a non-essential part of the rotation because of the construction of the roster. There were only so many perimeter minutes available, and the Lakers needed to try to emphasize defense, length and athleticism with those spots — all attributes Ellington lacks.

Kent Bazemore: D+
Notable numbers: 3.4 points, 36.3 3-point %

At the beginning of the season, it seemed as if Bazemore was conceivably going to be the fourth-most important Laker because so few players could replicate his theoretical 3-and-D skill set. He had impressed in Golden State the previous season (40.8 percent 3-point shooting) and turned down more money from the Warriors for a bigger role with the Lakers. He filled a void as a long-limbed wing who could defend multiple positions.

Despite earning the starting backcourt spot alongside Westbrook in training camp, Bazemore’s tenure in the rotation was short-lived. He was benched after 13 games and never played 15-plus minutes in more than two consecutive games after that. His erratic play — from fouls to turnovers to shot selection — frustrated the coaching staff. Based on on-off lineup data, he had the worst net rating differential on the roster (only Rondo and Jordan were worse overall). He was one of the Lakers’ bigger free-agency misses.
Click to expand...


As and B+ ??? Dude was grading on a curve :lol:
 
In a piece on HoopsHype, NBA Insider Mike Scotto dropped some possible details on Rob Pelinka's plan:
"I’d be shocked if Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and multiple first-round picks aren’t dangled on the trade market this summer for the Lakers. When you look at their roster outside of LeBron and Davis, that’s the only way for them to try to improve the team. I don’t think it’ll get the team anything back of consequence. They tried to dangle that before the trade deadline."

"I find it tough for them unless they’re going to somehow try to consolidate Westbrook’s contract into multiple pieces and do the reverse of what they did when they traded for him from the Wizards."

 
starting to think 1 more season of JokesBrick is our best move. Sit him out and play Augustin and Lebron at PG

Do not give up picks and take long term contracts just to get rid of him for one year. Imo were not winning the chip with our best player being 38 anyways
 
Lizakers said:
starting to think 1 more season of JokesBrick is our best move. Sit him out and play Augustin and Lebron at PG

Do not give up picks and take long term contracts just to get rid of him for one year. Imo were not winning the chip with our best player being 38 anyways
Click to expand...
You gotta make a run while you can.

I'm doing whatever I can to get some valuable role players for Russ.
 
Lizakers said:
starting to think 1 more season of JokesBrick is our best move. Sit him out and play Augustin and Lebron at PG

Do not give up picks and take long term contracts just to get rid of him for one year. Imo were not winning the chip with our best player being 38 anyways
Click to expand...
Best case is Russ to hornets for gordan hayward and Oubre.

Lebron signs 1 year extension

2024 summer lakers only have Ad under contract.
 
The intensity on the floor raises when oubre out there.

I like him, plays with alot of fire…..knows his limits.

Solid 3 & D wing
 
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