Taking a closer look at Lakers GM Rob Pelinka's offseason

With the recent Christian Wood signing, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka's offseason acquisitions are finished, as the team is expected to go into the 2023-2024 season as currently constructed, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. 

Pelinka and the Lakers have received a lot of praise for their offseason moves, but let’s take a closer look and see if that is truly deserved. 

Pelinka’s first move was to make use of two salary-cap exceptions the Lakers had, as the team was $56 million over the cap. When free agency opened July 6, the team signed guard Gabe Vincent to a three-year, $33 million deal using the mid-level exception. Then the Lakers signed forward Taurean Prince to a one-year, $4.5 million contract using their bi-annual exception.

Prince is a knockdown shooter with a 37.2 percent career average from three, and provides the team with another capable wing defender. Vincent played a major role in the Miami Heat’s extraordinary NBA Finals run last season, averaging 12.7 points and 37.8 percent from three during the postseason.

With both exceptions used, Pelinka moved to the minimum-contract market and brought in youth and athleticism, signing forward Cam Reddish and center Jaxson Hayes. For a minimum contract, these are low-risk, high-reward moves as they are still quite young, — 24 and 23 years old respectively — and will have a chance to flourish in a new environment.

But the biggest signings this offseason for the Lakers were actually contract extensions, as the team re-signed star big man Anthony Davis to a three-year, $186 million maximum extension, tying him to the team through 2028. Additionally, they retained guard Austin Reaves on a four-year, $54 million deal. Davis and Reaves are core pieces to the team, and having them locked down long term provides a path to a competitive team in the post-LeBron era.