The Lakers’ offseason has gone from unpredictable to much more predictable.
It began with the surprising departure of LeBron James, followed by the anticipated big swing for Walker Kessler. From there, Rob Pelinka took the Lakers down a less conventional path, surprising many by adding Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Collin Sexton.
But after locking up the core of the new team with long-term contracts, the focus has now shifted toward fine-tuning the roster. The remaining moves have become much easier to predict.
Trading Deandre Ayton for cap relief and additional second-round draft capital was one of those expected moves, creating the financial flexibility needed to address the final open spot in the projected starting lineup. That trade also left a hole at backup center behind Walker Kessler, one the Lakers addressed yesterday by signing Kevon Looney to a one-year veteran minimum contract.
What does this move mean in the bigger context of the Lakers' roster and their next move? Does Looney have enough left? What value does he bring? Here are my initial thoughts.
Today’s highlights:
Added a much-needed big body, but saved their flexibility for the final move?
What can Kevon Looney bring to the mix?
Is the emphasis on rebounding strategic or just a coincidence?
1-Added a much-needed big body, but saved their flexibility for the final move?
Before we get to Looney and what he can still bring to the table, let’s first look at what this latest transaction means in the bigger context of the Lakers’ roster construction and potential next move.
The most important takeaway is that the Lakers filled their backup center spot on a one-year veteran minimum contract. For a player with more than 10 years of NBA experience like Looney, that deal is projected to be worth $3,876,529, while preserving the Lakers' flexibility for their next move.
Just as importantly, the Lakers signed one of the few centers still available on a very thin free-agent market, filling the vacancy behind Kessler while adding much-needed size, toughness, and experience to the frontcourt.
In yesterday’s projected Lakers depth chart, I had two remaining question marks. With the addition of Looney, one of them has now been addressed. How adequately? I’ll try to answer that in the next section.
The Lakers now have three big men on the roster: Kessler, Mamukelashvili, and Looney. My expectation is that the latter two will share the backup center role, although I still believe three true bigs are one too few to feel completely comfortable over the course of an 82-game season.
The move also sends two important signals. First, the Lakers clearly have confidence in Mamukelashvili playing meaningful minutes as part of the center rotation. Second, by not using any of their remaining flexibility on a backup big, they’ve reinforced the belief that their priority is finding a wing to fill the final opening in the starting lineup.
Speaking of flexibility, my pal Pete explained on a recent Lakers Collective podcast how the Lakers could potentially absorb more salary than they send out in a trade. Using Jake LaRavia's $6 million salary as an example, they could take back more than $12 million. If they package Jarred Vanderbilt, they could potentially absorb more than $21 million.
The most recent ESPN report also noted that the Lakers have several contracts they could include in a trade (Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and Jaden Hardy), along with one of their remaining assets (three second-round picks or a 2032 first-round pick swap), to complete a sign-and-trade for Jonathan Kuminga.
It still seems Kuminga remains the Lakers' top priority. But the flexibility they've preserved could also allow them to absorb another contract, whether that's a player in the salary range of Cameron Johnson ($23 million) or PJ Washington ($19.8 million), although I remain skeptical that the Lakers have enough assets to land the latter. Or perhaps they get creative and find a way to add one of the other wing targets I've discussed throughout this offseason series.
