NBA: Grading every team’s 2023 offseason through the draft, free agency

Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
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NBA Playoffs
NBA Playoffs Los Angeles Lakers Austin Reaves (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports)

Los Angeles Lakers

Biggest offseason moves: Re-signing Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, signing Anthony Davis to a contract extension, signing Gabe Vincent 

After making a run to the Western Conference Finals, there’s a belief that the Los Angeles Lakers are close to winning a championship. Even though a big splash move didn’t develop for the Lakers this offseason, they still managed to improve their roster this summer through a few smaller signings. Heading into next season, the Lakers will be improved. The question is whether or not they will be improved enough to be considered a legit threat to win the 2024 NBA Championship.

Quite frankly, I’m not so sure. However, they had a really good offseason considering the circumstances. The Lakers managed to re-sign every key in-house free agent that they had (Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura). They also found great value by signing Gabe Vincent in the event that Russell falls out of favor with the coaching staff once again.

To close out their moves, the Lakers did a great job of signing low-risk, high-reward free agents, that could en up helping this team take another step forward in the Western Conference this season.

Grade: B+