It sure looks like LeBron James loves what the Los Angeles Lakers have been doing in free agency.
The Purple and Gold have been one of the most active teams in free agency, bringing back a number of key players from their Western Conference Finals run while also making some key additions to further strengthen their supporting cast around LeBron and Anthony Davis.
In the first day of free agency, the Lakers went to work and secured the services of Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish. They also inked Rui Hachimura to a new three-year, $51 million deal.
Then in Day 2, the Lakers made sure to take care of Austin Reaves and handed him the four-year, $56 million Early Bird maximum contract. They also retained D’Angelo Russell with a two-year, $37 million deal and added former New Orleans Pelicans big man Jaxson Hayes to a two-year contract.
After seeing all the moves that the Lakers did, LeBron James quickly took to his Instagram Story to celebrate. He didn’t write anything, but LeBron did share photos of Reaves, D’Lo, Hachimura, Vincent, Prince, Reddish and Hayes to welcome them. Many fans also saw it as a gesture of approval from LeBron.
The Lakers certainly did well in improving the roster. While they lost Dennis Schroder, who signed with the Toronto Raptors, there’s no doubt that they made significant improvements with the additions of Vincent, Prince and Hayes.
Of course it has yet to be seen if the new roster will gel quickly and replicate LA’s late-season success from 2022-23, but there’s definitely reason to be optimistic.