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Think back to last summer, when teams that had just played for an NBA title were hit with one bomb hit after another in free agency.
The first love at first sight struck instantly, when two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant said he would leave the Golden State Warriors finalist to join Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn. The second came a few days later: Kawhi Leonard, who had just led the Toronto Raptors to a championship, was heading to the Clippers and would be joined by Paul George, who had requested a trade there.
Those big moves from last season make what we saw last weekend from the Los Angeles Lakers so impressive. At a time when title contenders often have to play defense to keep their star talent from being poached, the reigning champions have come out and almost certainly won. better.
Of course, it helps that they never faced a real threat of losing free agent Anthony Davis, who would have to sign a new deal to stay in Los Angeles soon enough. But as a year draws near which will be very strange due to the rapid turnaround and the truncated schedule, it’s hard to imagine how the club could have done better to widen their margin of error as they go along. repetition.
Even before the free agency opened, GM Rob Pelinka struck a deal with Oklahoma City point guard Dennis Schröder, trading a first-round pick and swingman Danny Green to land him. The move has given Los Angeles a much younger and more scoring-focused lead ball manager than they were previously at Rajon Rondo, which should benefit the club in at least two ways. First, the Lakers should be able to lean on the 27-year-old – who has just taken a much longer hiatus than the rest of the Lakers – more than he could with Rondo, who suffered la last season. . (Naturally, it’s been said that LeBron James, who turns 36 in December, would want or need more of a two-month break.) Second, Schröder gives the Lakers a better threat to team up with Davis during the James’ underouts – a lot – needed a boost, considering the team were underwater by 3 points per 100 possessions last year with Davis on the field but James on the sidelines.
Beyond preparing to be able to rest James more effectively, Los Angeles have also provided reinforcements that should make life a little easier for Davis in the post: Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell and former defensive player of the year Marc Gasol.
When this deal was announced – surprising many, given that Harrell played for rival Clippers – it would have been understandable to wonder how much of an improvement Harrell was from Dwight Howard, who could have been kept with a minimum wage of veteran. Yes, Harrell is much younger and is a more active offensive player than Howard at this point. But Harrell looked like a sieve on D in the playoffs, with the Clips hemorrhaging 116.3 points per 100 possessions with him (instead of giving up just 103.8 with Ivica Zubac).
However, any concerns that might exist about Harrell should largely evaporate once you realize that Gasol will be on the list as well. The Lakers won’t necessarily have to use Harrell as a center if they don’t want to – Gasol and Davis can both serve as rim protectors while playing alongside him. And because these two are both good big perimeter shooters, Harrell can serve as a roll man while either Davis or Gasol deploy to the wing to keep the defenses honest and confused. (Another key point: Although Davis never suffered an injury that held him back for a considerable time, he has had more tight calls than anyone. Having both Harrell and Gasol on hand gives the team a fair amount of depth in the post, even though Gasol is older and Harrell struggles to defend the rim.)
None of this takes the Lakers’ other massive moves into account. While Los Angeles lost Green in the deal with Schröder, he took over another solid veteran wing from Wesley Matthews, who chose to move away from Milwaukee. The Lakers also managed to keep Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who won heavily in the final.
The movements themselves certainly make Los Angeles a solid bet to repeat, even before looking at the bizarre state of the Western Conference. The Suns are going to generate some hype for the playoffs now with Chris Paul playing alongside Devin Booker, and the heavily attacking Blazers may be closer to struggling with their improved roster in defense. But Klay Thompson suffered another serious injury, a season-ending Achilles tear, dealing a brutal blow to Golden State and basketball fans in general. No one knows if the Rockets led by James Harden will even be led by James Harden in a few months. In Dallas, Kristaps Porziņģis will miss the start of the season, and maybe more, to rehabilitate his knee. The Nuggets lost and respectively cut Jerami Grant and Torrey Craig, perhaps their two best defensemen against LeBron. And while the Clippers had Luke Kennard and Serge Ibaka, they could always use a better point guard option, especially since the Lakers have just overthrown Harrell’s allegiance.
All things considered, no team in the west seems to have come close to the Lakers in any meaningful way. At least not yet.
That said, we’re entering another anomalous campaign – bubble-free this time around – and the Lakers will be led by a 36-year-old, though he has developed a reputation for being nearly indestructible. There are a number of things that could ultimately dismantle the Lakers’ plans. But if they fail, it won’t be because of what they failed to accomplish during the period of free will.
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