Lakers Awarded Surprising Grade for Offseason Signings

The Los Angeles Lakers didn't make any massive moves this offseason, but they were able to fill a couple of big holes by taking a couple of risks.

LA decided to sign Deandre Ayton after he was bought out by the Trail Blazers, bringing him to Los Angeles on a two-year deal to be their starting center. They needed an upgrade at that spot, and that was their biggest hole.

The Lakers also decided to bring in Marcus Smart to help with the issues on defense in the backcourt, although he has had major issues staying healthy.

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Los Angeles was given a surprising offseason grade by ESPN, receiving a 'B' for what they have done so far this offseason. They praise them for also bringing in Jake LaRavia in a low-risk move.

"The Lakers are an interesting contrast to their crosstown rivals' offseason. Building around 26-year-old Luka Doncic, the Lakers added Jake LaRavia, 23, the youngest unrestricted free agent to change teams for more than the minimum, plus Deandre Ayton, who recently turned 27. Marcus Smart, 31, is the Lakers' oldest newcomer."

Adding those three pieces should help, but they also lost Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets after making a trade for him towards the beginning of last season.

Finney-Smith was their best perimeter defender and someone that they could bring in to close certain games because of his ability to hit threes and defend the opposing team's best player.

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Los Angeles is going to have to hope that the new additions they have brought in can stay healthy, especially Ayton and Smart. Both of them have missed a ton of games in the last few seasons.

The trade deadline could be used to reassess the addition of Ayton if things don't go well. They could try to make a bigger move to bring in a center, similar to the Mark Williams trade they voided at the deadline this past year.

Last year with the Trail Blazers, Ayton averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Smart averaged nine points, 2.1 rebounds. and 3.2 assists per game with both the Grizzlies and the Wizards.

LaRavia averaged 6.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in just 19 games with the Kings.

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