The Lakers’ signings of D.J. Augustin and Wenyen Gabriel upgrade talent but don’t address the roster’s concerns

The Los Angeles Lakers intend to waive center DeAndre Jordan and sign free-agent point guard D.J. Augustin, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The Lakers also intend to sign forward Wenyen Gabriel on a two-way contract, Charania reported. Gabriel is expected to take one of the Lakers’ two-way spots currently occupied by Mason Jones and Sekou Doumbouya.

After not making a deal at the trade deadline, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said the team would be aggressive on the buyout market, and with the deadline looming to waive a player and have him be playoff-eligible for another team, the Lakers followed through and finally made a move.

Jordan, 33, began the season as the Lakers’ starting center, starting 18 of the first 27 games he played in. But after struggling as a finisher and rim protector — and cramping the Lakers’ already-poor floor spacing — Jordan was finally relegated to the bench at Christmas. He’s played in only five of the Lakers’ 27 games since then.

Over the course of the season so far, Jordan has averaged 4.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 12.8 minutes per game. By most metrics, he’s been the team’s worst and most detrimental player. He’s long and athletic enough to still provide the occasional highlight dunk or block, but his paint-bound nature, lack of shooting and diminished athleticism make him an awkward and ineffective fit within the modern game.

It was only a matter of time until the Lakers waived Jordan. The Lakers tried to move him at the trade deadline but weren’t able to find any takers at a reasonable price.

Jordan is likely going to end up on the Philadelphia 76ers, either as a waiver claim or a free-agent signing, according to ESPN. Jordan previously played for Sixers coach Doc Rivers for five seasons with the Clippers. The signing follows an amusing trend of the Sixers signing former Lakers centers — Dwight Howard in 2020 and Andre Drummond in 2021 — right after they leave Los Angeles.

The waiving depletes the Lakers’ already-shallow frontcourt. With Anthony Davis out for at least three more weeks, Howard is now the only traditional center on the roster.

LeBron James has become a part-time center, of course, and Stanley Johnson, Carmelo Anthony and Trevor Ariza have dabbled with center responsibilities in small lineups. Gabriel can also play the four or the five. But the Lakers are certainly lacking in classic frontcourt size after this move.

As The Athletic’s John Hollinger laid out on Twitter, there’s a chance the Lakers could have saved luxury-tax payments and created a small trade exception if they had been willing to attach cash to Jordan’s contract and trade him to a team with an empty roster spot. The Sixers or another team claiming Jordan off waivers is unlikely but would be a notable win for Los Angeles.

Augustin, 34, is a journeyman backup guard (this is his 11th team in 14 seasons) whom the Houston Rockets waived Feb. 10. In 34 games with the Rockets, Augustin averaged 5.4 points and 2.2 assists in 15.0 minutes per contest. Augustin is a career 38.0 percent 3-point shooter who is shooting 40.6 percent on 3s this season.

Augustin ranked 15th in Hollinger’s buyout market rankings. He will fill the backup point guard role that Rajon Rondo previously held.

It’s unclear how much he’s going to actually play, but he could provide spot-up shooting and offer secondary playmaking in the LeBron-centric bench lineups. At 5-foot-11, though, Augustin doesn’t improve the Lakers’ defense or address their need for additional perimeter length and size.

When ranking the Lakers’ positional needs, point guard was probably at the bottom of the list. They need a wing upgrade, either in the form of a tweener who would fit well alongside James and Davis and assume Ariza’s minutes or a superior shooting guard to move the limited Avery Bradley out of the rotation. The Lakers also could have used a center upgrade over Jordan — or even a level deeper above Howard — though that is of less long-term concern when Davis is back and with James shifting more to center.

In Pelinka’s defense, there were no wing or big-man upgrades available on a barren buyout market. Augustin is better than Jordan, so from that perspective, the Lakers’ roster is more talented. Waiving Jordan also prevents Lakers coach Frank Vogel, whose primary rotational sin this season was playing Jordan as much as he did, from ever being able to play him. It’s an addition by subtraction move at the least.

This also indicates Kendrick Nunn (right knee bone bruise) is likely done for the season, as Augustin wouldn’t have a role if Nunn were to return soon.

Gabriel, a 24-year-old who’s played for the Kings, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Nets and Clippers over the past three seasons, is a mobile big who can shoot 3s at a low volume (he’s a career 36.8 percent 3-point shooter, albeit on 57 career attempts, and has shot 40-plus percent each of the past two seasons).

He’s foul-prone (he averages 5.6 fouls per 36 minutes for his career) and isn’t as good defensively as he should be, given his length and athleticism. But he’s got a good motor and has a chance to push Ariza for minutes if given a true opportunity.

Ultimately, neither signing moves the needle much for the 27-33 Lakers.

Augustin is a fringe rotation player at this point in his career and is a bit redundant with James, Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk and Talen Horton-Tucker (and Davis, once he’s back) all sharing the ballhandling duties and usage. The Lakers could certainly use his 3-point shooting — Monk and Anthony have been their only reliable shooters in the rotation this season — but his diminutive size and defensive limitations make him a complex fit in a small rotation that needs precise rotations and gang rebounding from its guards.

Gabriel is the type of prospect the Lakers could stand to gamble on. He flashed some rotation potential at the end of his rookie season with Portland and the end of last season with New Orleans. He theoretically fills multiple needs — shooting, length, athleticism — even if he never pans out. It’s a low-risk, high-reward bet.

The Lakers’ inactivity at the trade deadline was surprising, given the team’s state at the time. Things have only gotten worse since then, with the Lakers going 1-3 amid a 3-9 stretch that’s derailing their postseason chances. The post-trade-deadline, feel-good vibes only lasted so long.

The team desperately needs a talent upgrade — at multiple positions and in the form of multiple roster spots. In that sense, Augustin and Gabriel help, if only slightly. The signings are better than the alternative of standing pat. Jordan was wasting a roster spot. The Lakers needed to shake things up.

Los Angeles wasn’t likely going to find a difference-maker on the buyout market, and its superstars and principal rotation players are going to have to lead the improvement.