This is just a short one, and more of a 'whaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttt' post.
Of the players from last season that the Lakers are bringing back they appear to have chosen the worst preforming. Some of this is due to the trade for Davis, but it is still perplexing. Rondo was -10.9, and even next to Lebron he was -4.8, McGee's -5.1 was much worst than Chandler's +5.5, or Zubac's +3.1. KCP's -3.3 was better than Lance's -3.8 so that is something I guess, but it wasn't good.
Of their other signings Avery Bradley has been bad the last two seasons and average the year before that, and while Cook shouldn't be judged on pure +/- since he was backing up Curry he was in the 2nd percentile, and adjustments (ie RPM) hated him as well.
Jared Dudley has been a solid plus for years, and if they weren't getting a 34 year old who hasn't been able to stay on the floor much in recent years I'd like that signing a lot more.
That leaves us with Danny Green and Demarcus Cousins. Green had an astonishing +17.4 on/off last year, but it was pretty fluky. Besides shooting a career best 45.5% from 3 he spent almost all of his time on the floor with multiple other starters on the deepest 5 team in the league. He's a fine player but none of his previous years are remotely this high, and his prior two seasons were average to good. The other caveat is that he is 32 this season, which is a fairly bad zone for a 3+d player. JR Smith's value dropped from rotation player on a championship level team to borderline league player between age 30 and 32, Demarre Carrol's defensive value dropped well off last season in his age 32 year, it is likely that Trevor Ariza's last good defensive year was age 32, and that was below his prior production. Numerous other examples could be conjured, though clearly not every player who fits this role collapses right as they turn 32 it should at least be cause for building some redundancy given how well multiple shooting wings has worked next to Lebron. As it stands a decline from Green defensively gives them no on ball defenders worth playing.
Honestly its underwhelming, we are left with Kuzma and Cousins not yet discussed though. Kuzma is an offensive player on a team that is going to be searching for defense all season long, and at their most heavily filled position. Its hard to see large net value coming here unless he can lock in as an off ball defender who knows his rotations. He is young enough to do so. Cousins then is most of their upside, and he was statistically very solid outside of a high foul rate last year. I would assume that comes down with another year past his injury.
In a lot of ways this team reminds me of the last few years of the Kobe/Gasol Lakers (not the Dwight/Nash year) or the last seasons of the Kobe/Shaq Lakers with the Kobe/Shaq Lakers being the best comparison.
Shaq's peak years, and his playoff runs, are about as good of a value comparison as you can find for Lebron's peak, and Kobe's early-mid 20s value is a good match for Davis. These teams were trotting out a veteran supporting case with Rick Fox and Robert Horry in their early 30s along with a late 20s Derek Fisher.
I would also argue that the league was weaker then than it looks this season. The Spurs were a one star team in their title season and the Pistons one of the weaker title winners in recent memory (though still a strong team) the next.
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