Lou Williams and Roy Hibbert are headed to Los Angeles to play for the 2015-16 Lakers, according to NBA news gods Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Stein.
The Lakers actively pursued many big name free agents this offseason, holding high profile meetings with LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan, as well as courting second tier big men, Robin Lopez and Greg Monroe. Aldridge has announced his intent to sign with the Spurs, Jordan with the Mavs, Lopez with the Knicks, and Monroe with the Bucks, leaving the Lakers to search for a backup plan at the center position.
Hibbert has fallen out of favor in Indiana, after two straight seasons in which he underperformed the organization's expectations. The Pacers have signaled a desire to move on from Hibbert, publicly urging him to opt out of his onerous contract, and then drafting young big man Myles Turner at the 11th spot in the 2015 Draft. After Hibbert ignored the wishes of Bird and co. by opting in, they have sought to offload his $15.5 million deal to the highest bidder.
Hibbert averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 18 "verticality" comments in 25 minutes per game last year.
Williams, meanwhile, is yet another gunner to add to a backcourt full of them. He has agreed to a 3-year, $21 million contract with the Lakers. The deal strikes me as problematic for the Lakers, as their Top 5 perimeter players will want the ball, and none of them seem likely to want to give up their touches. Between Nick Young, Kobe Bryant, Jordan Clarkson, and Williams, no player had a usage rate below 23% last year, and D'Angelo Russell surely expected to be running the show after being drafted second overall.
Williams averaged 15 points and 2 assists in 25 minutes per game for the Toronto Raptors.
Update: According to Marc Spears, of Yahoo, the Lakers have acquired Brandon Bass, who has played for the Celtics since 2011. Bass is a durable power forward who has only missed one game in the last 3 seasons, and averaged 9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 23 minutes per game last year.
The Lakers' hypothetical opening day roster could look like this:
PG Lou Williams / D'Angelo Russell
SG Jordan Clarkson / Jabari Brown
SF Kobe Bryant / Nick Young
PF Julius Randle / Brandon Bass / Ryan Kelly / Larry Nance Jr.
C Roy Hibbert / Tarik Black / Bob Sacre
The signing of Hibbert will likely improve a defense that placed 29th out of 30 teams last year. Williams may improve the offense marginally, simply by virtue of being a slightly more efficient gunner than the other three on the team.
These moves look good for the Sixers, who own the Lakers' Top 3 protected 2016 pick. Neither player moves the needle enough to turn the Lakers into even a fringe playoff contender, but they are likely to strengthen the team enough to help avoid a bottom three finish.