{"id":149538,"date":"2025-07-09T17:50:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T21:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=149538"},"modified":"2025-07-09T17:50:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T21:50:36","slug":"grading-the-lakers-2025-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/09\/grading-the-lakers-2025-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Grading the Lakers 2025 Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday\u2019s \u201cFirst Things First on FS1,\u201d Nick Wright said he wasn\u2019t impressed with the Lakers\u2019 offseason, claiming they had done <\/span>\u201cthe bare minimum\u201d<\/span><\/a> up to this point.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though many expected LA to swing a trade for Walker Kessler<\/a> or Nic Claxton<\/a>, they have left free agency (for now) with two solid additions and a familiar face. As the <\/span>Lakers<\/span><\/a> look to redeem themselves next season, they should be happy with the work put in so far\u2014but know that it\u2019s far from over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grading the Lakers 2025 Free Agency<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Big Picture<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Lakers lost a valued member in <\/span>Dorian Finney-Smith<\/span><\/a>, but they made up for it by adding two younger players who bring much-needed skills to the table. And though a major trade would have been nice (and may or may not still happen), the team had a decently productive summer, all things considered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall Grade: B+<\/b><\/p>\n

Deandre Ayton<\/b><\/h3>\n

2024-25 Stats:<\/b> 14.4 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.0 BPG | 56.6% FG, 18.8% 3PT, 66.7% FT<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 search for a starting center <\/span>culminated<\/span><\/a> in 26-year-old Deandre Ayton, who is coming off a two-year stint with the Portland Trail Blazers after going first overall to the Phoenix Suns in 2018. He checks nearly all the boxes for the Lakers as an athletic, physical lob threat who can work well in the post and hit midrange jumpers. However, he\u2019s also been criticized for his <\/span>lack of effort on defense<\/span><\/a> and, more importantly, off-court issues that range from tardiness to tantrums.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his introductory press conference Tuesday, Ayton vowed to use that hate as fuel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt fuels me completely,\u201d <\/span>he said<\/span><\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a different type of drive that I\u2019ve been wanting to express for a long time. I think this is the perfect timing, here in the purple and gold. And it\u2019s a platform that I cannot run from. I can show what I really am, and just be around some greats to really emphasize that for me as well. There\u2019s a lot of fuel in me to prove the whole world wrong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If Ayton commits to that mindset in an organization that prioritizes winning\u2014especially next to <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a>\u2014there is no doubt he can thrive with LA and achieve that goal by season\u2019s end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/b><\/p>\n

Jake LaRavia<\/b><\/h3>\n

2024-25 Stats:<\/b> 6.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.9 SPG | 47.5% FG, 42.3% 3PT, 67.8% FT<\/span><\/p>\n

But before Ayton came on board, the Lakers boosted their bench by signing forward <\/span>Jake LaRavia<\/span><\/a> to a two-year, $12 million deal<\/a>. A 6\u20198\u201d 23-year-old born in Pasadena, LaRavia has plenty of skill on the perimeter, having canned 42% of his threes last season. Though that came on limited attempts (2.2 per game), he should see many more playing with skilled facilitators in Doncic, James and, <\/span>his buddy<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other side, though LaRavia isn\u2019t <\/span>known for defense<\/span><\/a>, he is a mobile and physical player who <\/span>aims to stop star-caliber opponents<\/span><\/a>. The rising fourth-year said he has seen the most grown on that end of the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been my main focus since I got to the NBA,\u201d <\/span>LaRavia<\/span><\/a> told Spectrum Sportsnet\u2019s Chris McGee. \u201cI take pride in my defense, now especially, taking the toughest matchup on or anything like that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With LaRavia\u2019s promising 3-and-D skill set, he has an opportunity to earn meaningful minutes for a Western Conference contender. He is not a replacement for DFS by any means, but he can be a high-level scorer who complements LA\u2019s stars like a glove.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/b><\/p>\n

Jaxson Hayes<\/b><\/h3>\n

2024-25 Stats:<\/b> 6.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.9 BPG | 72.2% FG, 62.2% FT<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest move the Lakers made was bringing back <\/span>Jaxson Hayes<\/span><\/a> on a <\/span>one-year, $3.4 million deal<\/span><\/a>, much to the surprise (and to some, chagrin) of the fanbase. The 25-year-old will look to settle back into a comfortable role after entering the starting lineup when the Lakers got Doncic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hayes is a springy 7-footer who, for the most part, held his own throughout the year. The end of the regular season and 2025 playoffs were anything but kind to him, and Hayes will hope to bounce back as LA\u2019s main lob threat off the bench. Yes, LA could have made a move for someone like <\/span>Nick Richards<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>Goga Bitadze<\/span><\/a>, but they made a wise decision to stick to who they know on another team-friendly contract.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/b><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next for the Lakers?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Though it may be the \u201cdog days\u201d of free agency, the Lakers are still looking to add guard and wing depth via <\/span>trades<\/span><\/a>. With all of their guaranteed roster spots filled (as well as two of three two-way contracts), it\u2019s the only way the Lakers can make any changes to the roster ahead of September training camp and October preseason.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, whether they add those rumored targets or not, Rob Pelinka and Co. have filled gaping holes in JJ Redick\u2019s rotation, a noble feat despite the financial constraints they faced this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday\u2019s \u201cFirst Things First on FS1,\u201d Nick Wright said he wasn\u2019t impressed with the Lakers\u2019 offseason, claiming they had done \u201cthe bare minimum\u201d up to this point. Though many expected LA to swing a trade for Walker Kessler or Nic Claxton, they have left free agency (for now) with two solid additions and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":149545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[4556,1419,49497,1962,38,1133,759],"class_list":["post-149538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-austin-reaves","tag-deandre-ayton","tag-jake-laravia","tag-jaxson-hayes","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-rob-pelinka"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149538"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149551,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149538\/revisions\/149551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}