The Los Angeles Lakers just keep adding to their roster. After it was announced that LeBron James would sign with the Lakers earlier on Sunday, a cascade of players have been linked to Los Angeles.
The Lakers have agreed to terms with the likes of both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Lance Stephenson. Now, LA has reportedly agreed to sign former Golden State Warriors big man JaVale McGee.
Via Twitter:
Free agent center JaVale McGee and Los Angeles Lakers have reached an agreement on a deal, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 2, 2018
McGee has reformed from his Shaqtin’ A Fool days, and was a useful cog in Golden State’s rotation as a backup big man.
More importantly, we are getting a better idea of who will be playing around LeBron as he enters his first season playing in the Western Conference. The Lakers have so few players under contract for next season, it was always likely that we were going to see a lot of moves in Los Angeles after the first big free agent signing.
Does McGee move the needle in the Western Conference for Los Angeles? Is he a starting-caliber player? Yes to the former and no to the latter. The Lakers still have work to do if they want to contend in the Western Conference against the likes of the Warriors and Houston Rockets.
Is Kawhi Leonard still on the table? Is DeMarcus Cousins still in LA’s crosshairs? Those are the big questions left even as the roster filling moves keep rolling in.