Ranking the Los Angeles Lakers' Offseason Acquisitions
The Los Angeles Lakers added several new pieces to their roster over the summer, exploring every possible avenue of bringing in talent.
They selected Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson in June's NBA draft, traded for Jeremy Lin, signed Ed Davis outright in free agency and won the amnesty auction for Carlos Boozer.
All five of those players can have a significant impact on the court during the 2014-15 season.
Who will have the biggest impact?
Let's rank L.A.'s offseason acquisitions in reverse order, assessing each player's value in terms of cost versus production.
5: Jordan Clarkson
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We covered the realistic expectations for Jordan Clarkson's rookie season in detail last week.
In most cases, a second-round draft choice has essentially no cost associated with it, but in this case, the Lakers did give up some "financial considerations" to acquire Clarkson's rights from the Washington Wizards, per ESPN reports.
That means L.A. is expecting something out of Clarkson, whether it's this season or further down the line.
He won't be asked to do much early on—in fact, he may not see any playing time at all—but if Steve Nash's body refuses to cooperate, Clarkson will inherit the backup point guard job.
It's a role he could struggle in, as the Missouri product is much more comfortable looking for his own scoring opportunities rather than setting the table for his teammates.
Clarkson will have some nice scoring bursts this year, but he's still a ways away from making a significant contribution.
4: Carlos Boozer
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The Lakers got a good deal in nabbing Carlos Boozer for $3.25 million for the 2015 campaign. The fact that he only ranks fourth on this list speaks to the value the Lakers found elsewhere this summer.
Boozer is coming off the worst season of his career, posting a below-average player efficiency rating for the first time ever.
His bounce-back potential is strong with L.A., whose offense figures to be superior to the anemic output of the 2014 Chicago Bulls.
The former All-Star can still score at a good clip out of the pick-and-pop game while also cleaning the defensive glass. Getting back to 16 points and nine boards a game is well within his grasp.
What depresses Boozer's overall impact is his subpar defense.
Chicago's hellacious scheme masked Boozer's deficiencies, but they will come back to the forefront now that Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler and Tom Thibodeau aren't around to shield him.
Boozer isn't equipped to protect the rim, and as a result, he may end up sitting in tight spots for a lesser-known player who can better fill that need—similar to his experience with the Bulls.
3: Ed Davis
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Ed Davis' signing was an absolute steal for the Lakers.
It's not often you can ink a 25-year-old big man with a career PER of 15.9 to a minimum contract, which is exactly what L.A. managed to pull off with Davis.
Davis is a solid rotation player who can fill in as an adequate starter in a pinch.
He's long and athletic, runs the floor hard and focuses on playing to his strengths offensively, as Silver Screen and Roll's harrison24 breaks down.
"The man knows his strengths, shooting 71.72% of his total shots at the rim, where he converts an effective 58.65% of them. His ability to get and convert his shots at the basket, while taking the bare minimum anywhere else, is an appealing aspect of his game."
However, it's his defensive potential that the Lakers are keen on.
Davis may be the only player on the roster capable of securing the paint—L.A.'s most pressing need. Last season, he ranked fourth in opponent's field-goal percentage at the rim among all NBA players who played an appreciable amount of minutes and defended at least three such shots per game, per NBA.com.
His defensive contributions should curry favor with new coach Byron Scott, who will try to develop Davis as he did Tyson Chandler back in New Orleans.
At just 25, Davis still has room to grow. And for under $1 million, he might just provide the best bang for the buck of any player on the roster.
2: Jeremy Lin
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After so much talk about value and the costs associated with each player, it may be a surprise to see Jeremy Lin ranking so high here.
After all, his $15 million salary is about double that of the other four players on this list combined.
But in reality, Lin's cap figure is only $8.3 million, and the Lakers can afford to spend the superfluous cash—especially considering the package that money gets them.
First, there's Lin the player. He can be L.A.'s most dynamic offensive point guard in over a decade, with his ability to penetrate the defense, get his own shot and set up his teammates.
He's also fashioned himself into a long-distance threat after knocking down a career-best 36 percent of his triples last season, including 40.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot opportunities and 45 percent of his attempts from the corners.
Lin will play a huge role off the bench, and if (when?) Steve Nash goes down with an injury, Lin could see 40 minutes a night with the Lakers having no other proven point guard on the roster.
Then there are the sweeteners that the Houston Rockets sent over with Lin in the trade.
The Lakers received a coveted future first-round draft selection as well as a second-round pick in 2015 without giving up anything of consequence in return, per NBA.com.
Between Lin's on-court production and the procurement of two additional draft picks that will help in building the roster down the road, the acquisition of Lin was a great deal for the Lakers.
1: Julius Randle
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It's no surprise that Julius Randle finishes atop this list.
There are no better values in the NBA than rookie contracts. The Lakers have Randle under team control for at least the next four years with a starting salary at an absurdly low $3 million for this season. They have a great shot to lock him into a contract beyond that as well.
Randle is only 19 years old and brimming with upside. He's the only player in this group who has the potential to be an All-Star in the league at some point in the future.
While he will probably be eased into the lineup off the bench to kick off the campaign, Randle will still get plenty of opportunities to shine and earn a starting spot.
"As a scorer, expect to hear the 'matchup nightmare' term get tossed around throughout the year", Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman writes about Randle. "At 6'9", there just aren't many guys his size who have the lateral foot speed to contain him in space."
He's the franchise's great hope; the bridge between the Kobe Bryant era and whatever comes next.
If Randle can develop into an All-Star-caliber player over the next two years—and that's certainly within the realm of possibility—L.A. will be a huge free-agent destination in 2016, when the Lakers' cap sheet is wiped nearly clean.
Superstars will see plenty of cap space—enough to accommodate two max salaries—as well as one of the brightest young stars in the league already in place on a team-friendly contract that will afford L.A. the necessary cap room to make more deals.
Nothing can be more valuable to the Lakers than a chance to reboot the franchise into a contender again.
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