Power Ranking Every Los Angeles Lakers Player After Major Offseason Additions

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to improve via trade, the draft, a disciplined free-agency approach and summer-league evaluations.

Roughly half the roster will be new to L.A. come the regular season, and most of those players will be rookies. If summer league has provided any peek into what lies ahead, it's about more ball movement, active defense and better spacing.

The start of training camp is still months away, and new front-office leaders Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka may still sign new players before then. But the business of rankings proceeds regardless.

Nos. 15-11: Dozier, Bryant, Caruso, Hart, Zubac

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15. P.J. Dozier, G

The Lakers recently signed undrafted South Carolina combo guard P.J. Dozier, but the test drive has so far been inconclusive—the 6'6" rookie played limited minutes in summer league before spraining his ankle.

Dozier is an athletic finisher with a nose for rebounding, but he had a shaky jump shot in college and can be prone to turnovers.

14. Thomas Bryant, C

Indiana Hoosiers center Thomas Bryant joined the Lakers as a draft-night trade from the Utah Jazz. At 6'10" with a 7'6" wingspan, the 42nd overall pick is able to overpower opponents in the paint. He can also step out and shoot from the perimeter, hitting 38.3 percent of his looks as a sophomore.

Bryant has shown flashes in Vegas, but he'll likely get the bulk of his rookie minutes in the G-League.

13. Alex Caruso, G

Undrafted out of Texas A&M a year ago, combo guard Alex Caruso subsequently played for the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 11.9 points, 5.2 assists and 2.2 steals (40 percent from three).

Strong summer-league play for L.A. resulted in a two-way contract for the 23-year-old—he can spend up to 45 days with the home team in addition to games played with the newly rebranded G-League South Bay Lakers.

At 6'5", Caruso has a nice shooting touch, is aggressive on both ends of the floor, shows good lateral agility and has ball-handling skills that could increase his role.

12. Josh Hart, SG

Josh Hart spent four years at Villanova in one of the nation's top basketball programs. He won a national title as a junior and was Big East POY as a senior. He's a talented scorer, averaging 18.7 points his final season, including 40.4 percent of his 5.1 three-point attempts per game.

The hope is that Hart can translate his three-and-D skills. Regardless, the 30th overall draft pick will have a hard time cracking the rotation as a rookie.

11. Ivica Zubac, C

Ivica Zubac showed tons of promise as a second-round rookie last season but got off to a sluggish start during his second summer-league experience, picking up his play as the schedule progressed. The bar will be raised during the regular season for a 7'1" center who will be backing up new acquisition Brook Lopez.

Zu could find himself with shrinking minutes as an NBA sophomore, especially with power forwards increasingly shifting to the 5 in small-ball rotations.

Nos. 10-6: Brewer, Deng, Kuzma, Clarkson, Nance Jr.

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10. Corey Brewer, SF

For a veteran baller whose numbers are waning, being traded midseason to a youth-driven rebuild wasn't exactly a career highlight. Still, Corey Brewer played solidly for the Lakers over a 24-game stretch, combining his slasher-style offense with a talent for disrupting passing lanes.

Once again, he'll be a steadying presence on a team in transition.

9. Luol Deng, F

Luol Deng is long in the tooth and had career-low stats for the Lakers after signing a bloated four-year, $72 million contract last summer. That said, the two-time All-Star could still play a positive role for the team, especially if he's used more at the 4, where his drop-off in speed isn't as critical.

It's hard to imagine he'll start many games this season; he'll be an expensive role player and mentor.

8. Kyle Kuzma, F

As Deng's star wanes, Kyle Kuzma's will begin to rise. The No. 27 draft pick has been one of the Lakers' best players during summer league, showcasing a hard two-way style and a smooth outside stroke. 

"I play with a chip on my shoulder, and I feel like I've got to go out and prove something every night," the 21-year-old said, per Serena Winters of Lakers Nation. "That's my expectation."

At 6'9", Kuzma has a rangy frame and epitomizes the league's growing trend toward multipositional players. He's athletic; can play the 3, 4 and perhaps even 5; and has a balanced scoring game, from lob-dunks to corner threes.

7. Jordan Clarkson, G

Jordan Clarkson also used to talk about having a chip on his shoulder. But after signing a new multiyear contract last summer, the combo guard had an anticlimactic third season—at least compared to his Cinderella debut in which he earned All-Rookie First Team honors.

Clarkson is fast and athletic and can create havoc slashing to the basket. But he hasn't yet shown any defensive consistency or real leadership.

6. Larry Nance Jr., PF

Larry Nance Jr. has successfully demonstrated a high motor over two years in the NBA. He can defend, play the pick-and-roll and will gladly posterize opponents with his high-flying dunks. But his Achilles' heel has been the lack of an outside shooting stroke.

"That changes this summer," Nance said recently, per Mark Medina of the Orange County Register. "I'm really looking forward to having guys close out on me. Once you close out on me, then the whole next progressions starts. Then I get my feet down and we get to show them some stuff."

5. Julius Randle, PF

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Julius Randle was part of a proposed trade package for Paul George before the draft, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. But George is now in Oklahoma, and Randle is still wearing purple and gold.

The former No. 7 draft pick has evolved his game past his early bull-in-a-china-shop reputation, with good ball-handling skills and the ability to go coast-to-coast for the bucket.

The next major step will be to see how he adapts to the presence of rookie Lonzo Ball, whose passing skills will either greatly benefit or possibly expose one of Randle's biggest weaknesses: catching and letting it fly. The 22-year-old has been stalled in that department to date, making just 27 percent of 0.9 three-point attempts per game last season.

Randle is a curious case in the modern NBA. He's a strong rebounder, has improved his passing skills and does almost all his scoring within 10 feet of the basket. He makes an effort defensively but has struggled to stay with his man or to properly handle switches.

This is still a guy with a lot of potential, as evidenced by a handful of triple-doubles last season. But he'll be a restricted free agent next summer, and the clock is ticking. We'll find out this season if Randle's biggest value for L.A. is on the floor or as part of a trade.

4. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG

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The Lakers stuck to their plan of preserving future cap space and still managed to pull off an intriguing free-agency addition this summer: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed a one-year, $18 million deal.

He has been a steadily improving shooting guard for the Detroit Pistons over four seasons and has been a starter since partway through his rookie season. The former lottery pick is still young at 24, has always been a dogged defender and hit a decent 35 percent of his three-pointers last season.

The scoring part is nice. But it's KCP's quick hands and relentless hounding at the other end that will be most welcome—Los Angeles has had one of the most miserable defenses in the NBA in recent years, giving up a whopping 111.5 points per game last season.

This is a solid pickup for the Lakers. If Caldwell-Pope thrives in L.A., he could be convinced to stick around. He'll also be an enticing expiring contract in possible midseason trade talks.

For now, the 6'5" guard is projected as a starter and one of the Lakers' key components.

3. Brook Lopez, C

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Lakers fans were stunned when D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in June for Brook Lopez and the No. 27 draft pick (which ultimately netted Kuzma). But the pain of losing a gifted prospect was somewhat mitigated by the dumping of a wretched contract and an obvious upgrade at the center slot.

Lopez has smartly adapted to evolving trends, busting out a three-point jumper that had been previously nonexistent. The twin brother of Robin attempted 31 treys over eight years prior before launching 387 and making 134 last season!

It's the kind of development that will extend the career and the minutes for an NBA big man, and it's stunning at this late stage. Lakers head coach Luke Walton expressed his approval during an appearance on Zach Lowe's ESPN podcast (h/t Silver Screen and Roll):

"[Lopez] was in the gym the other day. I was blown away. I knew he could shoot threes, and he hit a bunch last year, 130-something, but when you sit there and watch him shoot threes, they're beautiful. They come off his hand, they're soft, he's going seven or eight out of 10 in every spot."

The biggest knock on Lopez has been chronic foot injuries—a not-unexpected consequence for a 7'0", 275-pound giant. But regardless, he started 75 games last season, averaging 20.5 points, 5.4 boards, 2.3 assists and 1.7 blocks.

2. Lonzo Ball, PG

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There may be those ready to place Ball atop the Lakers' rankings before he ever plays a regular-season game. But for now, that will have to wait.

L.A.'s No. 2 overall draft pick has already shown plenty to get excited about, leading the summer league in assists with 9.3 per game and tossing in a couple of triple-doubles as well. The full-court lobs are indeed impressive, as is a sense of leadership and court vision. But the 19-year-old has struggled as well, particularly with a jump shot that had already drawn plenty of scrutiny.

Simply put, his mechanics are broken. Ball has somehow gotten away with a stroke that starts low, travels up his body, goes left across his face and then launches skyward with an oddball flick of the right wrist.

It's not linear, it's not simple and it will cause problems until it's fixed.

The argument in favor of Ball's funky shot is that he averaged 41.2 percent from long range at UCLA. But the NBA three-point line is further out, and the competition is much tougher—opponents are going to come down hard on that crooked release.

This isn't a storyline that will go away. At some point, there will likely be an attempt to correct old habits. In the meantime, Ball will do what he does best: intuitively seeing the floor and setting up teammates.

He has a bright future ahead.

1. Brandon Ingram, SF

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How does a guy go from a shaky rookie season to the top of the rankings? It's all about potential and improvement.

Anyone who watched Brandon Ingram's lone summer-league game saw it. He looked stronger and more confident, scoring 26 points in 31 minutes on an impressive array of hesitation moves, post-ups, dribble-drives and smooth turnaround jumpers.

Ingram was shelved for the remainder of the schedule due to leg cramps. That caution is just fine—we caught a glimpse. Meanwhile, Ingram's coach thinks he's turned an important corner.

"It's just his work ethic, really," Walton said, per Medina. "When you work as hard as he does and has the talent he has, eventually he'll figure it out."

The 19-year-old from Duke still has a summer of workouts ahead, followed by fall training camp and preseason ball. But the eventuality Walton referenced is ready to be unleashed.

This will be Ingram's breakout season and an opportunity to show he's the most improved player in the game.