5 Lakers Poised To Exceed Expectations This Season

After the Lakers’ front office doled out hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts, many fans were left wondering how many of these players could realistically outperform their contracts.

Here are four new Lakers and one returning player who look well positioned to obliterate the national media’s low expectations and a cautious local fanbase that’s been burned once too often.

Note: Since cheaper rookie deals are locked in, recent draft picks like Cameron Carr, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Adou Thiero were left out.

Matisse Thybulle

Defense-starved Lakers fans have dreamed about adding Matisse for years. Now, an injury-filled career has left him playing for LA on a minimum deal right in the middle of his prime.

Availability will always be a concern. But the former All-NBA defender has one trait that will position him to outplay that minimum deal: He’s the best at what he does on the entire team.

A look at Thybulle’s numbers reveals an impossibly high steal rate combined with an increasingly reliable three-point shot. He’s also shown the ability to defend up and down, offering head coach JJ Redick a level of versatility he had in Marcus Smart, only in a taller and younger package.

Injuries could once again have Matisse in street clothes for much of the upcoming season. But if he can regain some level of health like Smart did last year, LA could end up with a rotation-level wing fighting for one of the team’s 2027 exceptions.

Jake LaRavia

Besides injuries, one sure-fire way to make fans crazy is consistently missing wide-open 3-point shots. So, no one was surprised when many ended last season ready to move on from the once promising “Jake of All Trades.”

Still, there are several reasons to believe LaRavia can have a significant bounceback season.

First, he is still relatively young, with his 25th birthday coming just a few days into the regular season. Second, Jake spent his first three years on relatively aimless teams, forcing him to develop lasting NBA skills and habits in less-than-optimal environments.

Third, before his mid-season collapse, LaRavia looked poised to build on his career-best prior season. This included breakout games that had opposing fans crying out in anguish.

Luckily, LA’s new batch of wings and forwards should help shoulder more of the load. Assuming a reasonable minute allotment, consistent defense, motor, availability, and continuity with a coach that trusted him nearly all last season, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Jake regain his shooting stroke and the faith of Laker fans.

Walker Kessler

When LA spent two unprotected first-round draft picks and two swaps (which seem less than likely to convey) on Walker, the national media widely panned it as a major overpay. Annoying, but likely the point.

Still, several reasons suggest Walker can outplay those low expectations.

First, Walker is clearly a high-level shot blocker and rim protector. Former Utah Jazz reporter and current Philadelphia Sixers media member Tony Jones, who spent multiple seasons covering Walker, recently told Jovan Buha of Buha’s Block that he believes the former Team USA center has a chance to be a Rudy Gobert-level defender

“Which is essentially a one-man top-10 defense,” Jones explained.

Kessler also offers surprising advantages on the offensive end as well. Although not an elite post player, Jones also stated more than once that Walker is surprisingly fast end-to-end, regularly leading to fast breaks, quick seals, and easy lay-ins. Those points will be extremely valuable for a team that wants to push the pace on offense.

There were also concerns about Kessler’s ‘highest for a non-All-Star center’ payday. However, with the rising cap, it is more than likely that Kessler’s contract will end up in the lower half of starting centers before it ends.

Like many physically massive players, Kessler may turn out to be a valued game-changer who simply can’t stay healthy. If so, the critics might be right.

But given how many games Utah sat him in successive tanking seasons while he was seemingly able to play, and their decision to address his longstanding shoulder issue with surgery at the start of yet another Great Salt Lake tank campaign, his chances of injury don’t seem to be proportionately higher than any NBA player.

And, oh yeah. If the rumors of a 3-point stroke turn out to be real, his sub-max contract and middling draft asset price may become long-forgotten relics of a predetermined narrative meant to satisfy everyone but Lakers fans.

Ziaire Williams

Ziaire Williams isn’t a complete unknown. But given his relative level of obscurity playing for Memphis and Brooklyn, it’s not a surprise that many Laker fans are talking themselves into the idea of Ziaire starting over more well-known, identifiably flawed options like Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jarred Vanderbilt, Matisse, Jake, and Adou.

A quick glance at Ziaire’s youth and athleticism, and his picture-perfect combo-wing size, reveals a player who merited a first-round gamble. His time in the league has been a mix of solid play, spotty effort, and role concerns.

The other common criticism of Ziaire is how thin he is. His light frame might have worked for a player who used his length to smother opposing guards and his quickness to ably navigate screens. But LA needs a combo forward.

It sounds like Ziaire has added significant muscle, revealing recently that he’s up to around 215 pounds, to potentially compete for the open starting forward spot. While that’s not enough added poundage to bang with bigger fours, the up-and-coming wing might have increased his defensive versatility enough to compete for legitimate rotation minutes.

On offense, a quick look at Williams’ shot chart shows a player who is at his best shooting open catch-and-shoot threes. Now, he is joining a backcourt that has been known to generate “butt-naked wide open” threes.

There are scenarios where Ziaire’s lack of hustle, thin frame, or inconsistent shot doom him to the bench. But considering his added weight, upward career trajectory as a shooter, and JJ’s ability to put together defenses that maximize disrupters like him, it feels like Ziaire has a chance to dramatically outperform his minimum contract and force LA to consider spending part of their MLE on him next summer.

Arthur Kaluma

Unlike rostered players, two-way players like Arthur Kaluma typically have two goals: Show they belong and earn a long-term guaranteed contract. While there’s no single path to a permanent call-up, former Laker and two-way contract pioneer Alex Caruso has offered an insider’s guide.

Instead of trying to score the most points, the do-it-all role player who’s proven a valuable cog in several championship runs said two-way players should try to forge a role with their G League team that they would most likely play with the big club.

A comfortable on-ball scorer, Arthur often found himself stuck in the corner as a third or fourth scoring option behind guys like Bronny, Nick Smith Jr., and Drew Timme. But when the ball came to him, the bulky wing showed that hitting open threes and attacking close-outs with a savvy Euro-step into the paint followed by a crafty finish at the rim is exactly what he does.

Ultimately, given the limited number of options at power forward and his breakout Summer League performance, Arthur Kaluma may obliterate expectations and force LA to sign him before the season ends.

Christopher Plain has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Reporter at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his novels at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org.