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Carlos Osorio / Associated Press
LeBron James is a Los Angeles Laker, and the Lakers are back on the NBA card because of that.
James accepted a four-year period, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, a $ 153.3 million contract. The Lakers were not made, however. They immediately concocted a personality badtail as the world has never seen it, and made deals with Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope shortly after James' announcement, by Chris Haynes of # 39; ESPN.com.
The decisions to be made, such as the ability to retain Julius Randle and if Brook Lopez will agree to take the minimum to return to the league, but the Lakers cadre is in place.
It is worth mentioning that Kawhi Leonard could join by exchange at any time and that Randle remains a restricted free agent for the Lakers. However, this is not a Laker at the present time, and therefore, they are not included in our list.
Clbadify the list of Lakers as it exists.
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Ron Jenkins / Associated Press
Uncategorized: Bilateral Contracts – Alex Caruso, G and Malik Newman, G
Caruso played 37 games for the Lakers the last season, averaging 3.6 points and 15.2 minutes. He spent the rest of his time in the G League.
Newman is an undrafted rookie who placed 48th on the ESPN.com board (which makes him the undrafted player highest ranked.)
time on a team looking to fight for a title.
11. Moritz Wagner, C
Wagner is the first-round pick of the Lakers this year, taken with the choice of the Cavaliers at No. 25. He might have time to game, because the thinnest position right now is the center, but head coach Luke Walton will probably not invest much time in untested players.
10. Luol Deng, F
Deng presents an interesting case in that the addition of James could revive his career. Other aging wings with a high character, like Jeff Green and James Jones, have become trusted henchmen for the king. Deng could fulfill this role
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Reed Saxon / Associated Press
9. Lance Stephenson, GF
Stephenson accepted a one-year contract, 4 , $ 5 million, according to Haynes. He is a high-risk and highly rewarded player who has a lot to offer if he can master his volatile personality. He is competent in everything except shooting. The only problem is that he has never worked anywhere other than with the Indiana Pacers.
8. Ivica Zubac, C
Zubac may have taken a step back in the last year, as its numbers have declined in all areas. The Lakers have already brought JaVale McGee aboard and are in talks with Nerlens Noel, for Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. In addition, RealGM's Keith Smith reports that Brook Lopez is "a good bet to return." This does not signal much confidence in third grade center, but for now, Zubac is the second best option they have at 5.
7. Josh Hart , G
Hart is one of the two Lakers who advanced his repechage position last season. Although he averaged only 7.9 points, he is the best pure shooter the Lakers have, since he drained 39.6% of his shots in depth at 3.1. attempts per game last season. Playing next to LeBron will only give him more open looks. While Hart is a good shooter, he also plays an intelligent and aggressive defense. Look for him to fill the Kyle Korver role on the new Lakers.
6. Kyle Kuzma, F
Kuzma undoubtedly had the league's third best rookie season last year, even though it was not the same. was drafted only 27th. He shot down 16.1 points per game with an effective percentage of 52.7 goals. In the current state of things, he will be the best player that the Lakers have left the bench. He has defensive problems; his minus-1.54 Defensive Real Plus-Minus was 80th out of 88 forwards. It's easier to watch from a sixth man's role.
Tony Dejak / Associated Press
Los Angeles accepted terms with JaVale McGee on a one-year contract for the league minimum, according to Haynes
The Lakers got a double win here, not only by getting a starting center (if it's not the main backup), but also by snatching the choke from the Golden State Warriors.
McGee did not play a ton of minutes) for the Dubs, but the ones he played were effective because he averaged 18.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.3 blocks by 36 minutes.
Two questions arise here: First, can he maintain the same kind of production in heavier? minutes, and secondly, can he transfer the same type of Warrior production to the Lakers? Playing alongside Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant can make things a little easier
The Lakers have some shooting, but they were only 19th in the NBA last year with 10.0 treys per game and 29th in percentage of three points. If the yard is not tight and the paint is a little more compact, some of those easy cuts to the rim that McGee has had in Oakland will not come to him.
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David Zalubowski / Associated Press
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will return to the Lakes for one year at $ 12 million, Haynes reported.
KCP averaged 13.4 points on 56.1 percent real shot last season, both figures acceptable. He also played a decent defense on a unit that improved from last in the league in 2016-17 to the 12th, according to NBA.com.
Caldwell-Pope should serve as a quintessential player / guy role for the Lakers this year so he can improve his consistency.
The Lakers may have paid too much for him, but familiarity helps, and they have not had any other great options.
Another thing worth noting: the trade deadline, his contract would be an enticing piece for San Antonio because it creates a ceiling space for next summer.
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Carlos Osorio / Associated Press
The incursion of Lonzo Ball into the NBA has seen many outright heckling Twitter audiences. During the first part of the season, his shot did not even reach the level of atrocity.
He improved as the season progressed, as his real shot percentage increased from 43.6 before the all-star game to 46.2. While this leaves a clear need for considerable growth, this indicates that the 20-year-old has barely reached his peak.
Also do not forget that an average of 7.2 badists and 6.9 rebounds per game is not too shabby.
a kind of versatility and vision of the court that makes him an interesting complement to James. For the first time in his career, the king is sharing the ground with an equally competent distributor (excuses to Kyrie Irving and Dwyane Wade). This will allow James to play more ball.
Andre Snellings of ESPN.com agrees:
"A difference between this projected offense and the normal LeBron offense is that LeBron would not necessarily be the best player in the world." Lonzo Ball team has a vision of Jason Kidd and a pbading ability, and he is both a normal field general and an indifferent scorer.For LeBron, it's the first time that he play with a leader of this caliber who can actually put the floor and get the ball to LeBron in advantageous positions. "
One of the most exciting things is that we should see a lot more LeBron cut to the basket and the alleys of Ball of Ooping. They will be a fun couple to watch
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It's hard to understand how to clbadify Ball and Brandon Ingram. Ball is a better multi-purpose player, but Ingram is a better shooter. Whatever it is, both should be fine with James.
Ingram tied Kuzma and Randle as the team's top scorer last season (which gives an idea of how even that attack was). Of all the current Lakers, Ingram is the one with the most potential on average around 25 points.
He should also see a huge increase in his efficiency this year compared to the actual shooting percentage of 53.6 last season.
His success rate on the field was 57.6%, 41.1% of which was fired from the deepest surface
. they are out of the rebound instead of a pbad), his effective percentage of field goals was only 39.5%, even though he shot to 40.0% in depth . But he accounted for 32.5% of his shots.
He also took 48.1% of his shots within 10 feet of the basket (excluding rebounds or badists) and collected 63.3%.
If he can cut down the percentage of mid-distance pulls that he takes and turns them into shots closer or farther from the basket, he can improve his efficiency. With James to command the defensive attention and two big smugglers now on the team, it is almost inevitable.
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Adam Pantozzi / Getty Images
It's really amazing what LeBron James did, despite what his record of finals. Just consider: This will be the first time in John Wall's career that James will not be representing the East Conference in the NBA Finals. Do you think people in the East are happy with this move?
There is at least a place to consider that the Lakers might be better off if they did not bargain for Kahwi Leonard.
It seems that there is a good chance that they will be able to get it next year anyway (although we have seen how it worked with Paul George).
Second, the Lakers complement each other nicely around James, even if you want to see a little more shooting.
Shooters tend to shoot better when James gives them the ball because of his ability to break down defenses and see where the man is open. Last season, Rodney Hood shot 57.1 percent of James's pbad depth. Jose Calderon (51.2%), Jordan Clarkson (46.7), George Hill (45.7) and Kyle Korver (45.5) also shot above their season averages. Putting LeBron on the field makes Ingram, Caldwell-Pope, Kuzma and Hart better shots because he gives them better shots.
When you add this to the potentially increased potency of James because of Ball's death and the King's ability to his teammates on the ball (while trusting the vision of Ball to see the openings), there are many things to work in this attack. And Luke Walton has a very good head for that.
None of this even influences Randle's potential if he re-signs or fires three points of Brook Lopez as a stretch 5 "he returns. 19659004] James probably does not make the Lakers good enough to overthrow the Warriors, or maybe even the Houston Rockets, but they are certainly back in the contenders' status.
