The Lakers sign a 23-year-old shooter with a rating of B+: The biggest advantage is age. The annual salary of $6 million is very cost-effective

On July 1, the Lakers reached a two-year, $12 million signing agreement with 23-year-old scorer Jack Laravia. ESPN then gave a rating for the Lakers' signing: B+. Data expert Kevin Pelton commented as follows-

} The Lakers are optimistic about the Lakers using Laravia as their signing target, but there is an important premise: they still have to figure out who will serve as the starting center.

As the No. 19th pick for the first round selected by the Grizzlies in 2022, Laravia was refused the team's rookie contract option for the 2025-26 season before the start of last season. Then, Laravia ushered in the best season of her career, with a three-point shooting percentage of 42.3%, and her real shooting percentage increased from 53.8% in the previous two seasons to 59.1%.

Although the Grizzlies traded Laravia to the Kings on the trade deadline, the rejected option still limits the Kings' ability to re-sign him. The Kings can only provide Laravia with up to $5.6 million this season — the value of the option. The Lakers roughly matched this salary on a two-year contract.

For the Lakers, the biggest benefit of signing Laravia is his age. At 23, he is still growing into a contributor; if it is a pure two-year contract, the Lakers will be able to re-sign him in the summer of 2027 (then when he is 25).

Based on Laravia's age and performance, Pelton's data prediction system shows that his prediction ranking is just outside the top 20 free agents. If this prediction is roughly accurate, $6 million per year should be a good deal. Since Laravia's contract amount exceeds the biennial special, it is likely to need to spend from the Lakers' full middle class special. This leaves the Lakers with about $8 million left for spending, most likely to introduce a center.

Splitting the special case of middle-class will help the Lakers improve the depth of the lineup than using the entire amount for a player. After seeing Finney Smith reach an agreement with the Rockets earlier, the Lakers' reliable number of rotation players will remain the same without breaking up the exception.