The Los Angeles Lakers are officially in the Luka Doncic era, as for the first time, they have built a team that they believe specifically is geared towards his skillset. They agreed to terms on four moves in a 35-minute span on Wednesday morning, adding defensive anchor Walker Kessler, stretch big Sandro Mamukelashvili, ball-handling guard Collin Sexton and a potential two-way guard/forward in Quentin Grimes.
It’s safe to assume that both Doncic and head coach JJ Redick signed off on these moves, as all rumors pointed towards the Lakers being in constant communication with both. And it appears that the Lakers head coach a special affinity for Grimes, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic:
Grimes will be slotted in as a point-of-attack defender with plenty of offensive game, a bet on him as a two-way talent. Team and league sources have long known JJ Redick to be a fan of Grimes, who was a priority target this summer.
Grimes is a good player and a good signing in a vacuum. However, not many people around the league would consider Grimes a full two-way talent. He is a great scorer with good burst and athleticism, but is considered by most metrics to be a league-average defender on the perimeter.
However, Redick has absolutely proven that he can both get the best out of individuals on the defensive end and create defenses that are better than the sum of their parts. It’s possible that, with Grimes, he sees tools that he believes can make him a better defender than he’s shown in last couple seasons.
Redick has earned that level of trust through two seasons at the helm of the purple and gold. That’s likely part of why the Lakers gave Grimes a four-year, $60 million deal with a player option on the fourth year, because they have belief in what Redick can do with him on the roster.
Lakers feel Walker Kessler is perfect fit
The biggest signing for the Lakers this summer was — by far — Kessler, via a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz that sends two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to Utah while Kessler signs a four-year, $130 million deal to join L.A.
The reason the Lakers went all-out to land him is because they believe he is a perfect fit next to Doncic, thanks to his elite rim protection and his ability to score around the basket.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
