10 trades and free-agent signings the Lakers would like a do-over on

Lakers do-over No. 10: Signing Kendrick Nunn, 2021

We start our list with a pair of relatively low-impact deals. They weren’t massive contracts handed to busts, or trades so bad that they broke a contender into a bottom-feeder; those are coming soon. Instead, both of these deals were small ones that completely flopped, and in doing so sent smaller shockwaves through the organization.

In the summer of 2021, the Los Angeles Lakers signed the former Miami Heat point guard to a two-year, $10.25 million deal with a second-year player option. It seemed like a bargain deal at the time, but Nunn promptly suffered a knee injury that kept him unavailable for the entire season. He then exercised his player option to stay with the Lakers, a sign that he didn’t believe he would make more on the open market. That’s rarely a good sign.

Nunn hasn’t been any better to start the 2022-23 season, either. At the time of writing, he has appeared in 13 games and is playing just 14.3 minutes a night, with disappointing averages of 5.8 points (on a frigid 36.3 percent from the field) and 1.3 assists. On a Lakers team that could really use some perimeter creators, Nunn hasn’t been able to accomplish much.

Add in that the Lakers signing Nunn seemed to lead to their unwillingness to match an offer for Alex Caruso that summer, who signed for $9 million per season and has been an impact player for the Chicago Bulls. Signing Nunn hasn’t helped the Lakers win, it has cost them multiples of his salary in luxury tax payments, and it led to losing a much better player. That’s clearly a move the Lakers would like to do over.

Lakers do-over No. 9: Roy Hibbert trade, 2015

In the summer of 2015, the Lakers were trying to gear up for one last season with Kobe Bryant. After striking out in free agency they instead pulled the trigger on a trade for Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert, an All-Defense center on a large contract that the Pacers essentially traded for nothing, a future second-round pick that eventually became Eric Paschall after passing through many hands. At the time it was seen as a solid backup plan and a good trade.

Instead, Hibbert was terrible at manning the middle for the Lakers. Whatever confluence of events allowed him to dominate defensively with the Pacers disappeared in a flash and he averaged a career-low 5.9 points, had only 4.9 rebounds per game and had the worst defensive rating of his career. That final season for Kobe ended up being a farewell tour and not a “last run” as they slumped to just 17 wins, and committing 81 games and $17 million of their cap to Hibbert certainly played a large part.