Offseason Notes: Early Reactions to Day 1 of Free Agency

Jake LaRavia, D’Angelo Russell, the Rockets getting even bigger, and more

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson

This is the second installment of my Offseason Notes series, following up on Part 1 with my Draft Day reactions. These are quick takeaways and early thoughts on moves around the league as they happen.

Free agency opened yesterday, and while there were no blockbuster signings, there were still plenty of interesting developments worth tracking. Over the next few days, as the rapid movement and constant stream of news continues, I’ll be sharing shorter, more frequent notes like this. Once things settle down and the dust clears, I’ll shift into more in-depth player deep-dives and analysis.

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Today’s notes:

1. Jake LaRavia and other potential Lakers moves

2. D’Angelo Russell, filling the Mavericks’ ball-handling gap 📈

3. The supersized Rockets and the NBA’s ‘big’ shift

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1-Jake LaRavia and other potential Lakers moves

Rob Pelinka and the Lakers opened free agency in somewhat surprising fashion. Their first move wasn’t a center, but the signing of 23-year-old, 6-foot-8 forward Jake LaRavia to a two-year, $12 million deal. The Lakers also lost another forward, Dorian Finney-Smith, who signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Houston Rockets. His somewhat unexpected departure opened up the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, part of which was used to sign LaRavia. Lakers fans will be hoping this is just the first of several moves, with the remaining MLE and resources potentially going toward Deandre Ayton or De’Anthony Melton, two players the Lakers have been linked to early in free agency.

LaRavia is an intriguing player, but he doesn’t address the Lakers’ most pressing needs—size, athleticism, and speed. Like Ayton, he’s a decent but not exceptional athlete, and he’s not especially quick or aggressive as an on-ball defender (maybe second-round pick Adou Thiero can grow into that role sooner than later). To be fair, neither was the 32-year-old Finney-Smith, now entering the back half of his thirties. While DFS is a better primary wing defender than LaRavia, he was overtaxed in that role with the Lakers. That said, LaRavia does bring versatility on defense. He’s a smart gap and nail defender, plays with effort, has good positional size, and uses his active hands well. LaRavia, like Melton, stands out in certain advanced stats—most notably steal rate and offensive rebounding. That might hint at some influence from the Lakers’ analytics department, or even inspiration from the OKC championship run, which was driven in part by their ability to generate turnovers.

Jake LaRavia defense and rebounding stats (source: Cleaning the Glass)

Offensively, LaRavia is an upgrade over Finney-Smith, whose limitations as a standstill spot-up shooter became a problem in the playoffs. LaRavia’s addition also suggests that either Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, or both could be expendable and potentially included in the next Lakers move for a primary on-ball wing defender. If Pelinka has that next move lined up, then LaRavia is a solid young rotational piece with starter potential on a good contract. If not, the Lakers’ already shaky perimeter defense just got even shakier.

If Pelinka doesn’t surprise with an out-of-nowhere trade for a big, then one of the next moves almost has to be signing Ayton, fresh off his buyout agreement with the Blazers. Nearly all other center free agents linked to the Lakers—Clint Capela, Brook Lopez, Kevon Looney, Luke Kornet—were quickly taken off the board. Which could still be problematic, even if Ayton signs. Ideally, I’d prefer to see a veteran big mentoring him and playing behind the still-erratic former number one pick. Al Horford feels like the perfect fit—but he’s also the only remaining solution of that kind in free agency, and has a long list of suitors. A very interesting few days lie ahead for the Lakers.

2-D’Angelo Russell, filling the Mavericks’ ball-handling gap 📈

I’ll be honest up front. I’m not a huge fan of D’Angelo Russell’s game or his player archetype. During last season, I wrote extensively about the Mavericks’ struggles with on-ball pressure and perimeter defense, which remained a major issue despite having plenty of length and size in the frontcourt. Russell is just the latest in a long line of Mavericks guards who don’t apply pressure at the point of attack. He’s not aggressive, not physically imposing. Similar to Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Brandon Williams, Jaden Hardy, and even Tim Hardaway Jr. or Jalen Brunson before them.

However, with the Mavericks' size and new defensive talent—Cooper Flagg, whose defensive comparisons are off the charts—providing the infrastructure around him, Russell’s deficiencies in individual on-ball defense can be mitigated. To his credit, he has shown the ability to be an effective, at times even good, off-ball team defender during his time in Minnesota.