When the time came to mid-September, the Lakers, who had gone through an offseason and did not have any signing moves, finally signed again. After Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the team, pressured the team in recent days to express his displeasure with the team's depth inside, Lakers management moved quickly to sign former Raptors center Christian · Crook. As soon as the news came out, it sparked heated discussions among Lakers fans, and once again made the Lakers' reinforcements a hot topic.
The Lakers' interior depth has always been the team's weakness, and in recent days, thick eyebrows have publicly stated that they hope the team can bring in a center, making it clear that he is not willing to play center for a long time. The thick eyebrows' attitude of "forcing the palace" has increased the pressure on the Lakers management. With Wood sidelined for at least eight weeks through injury, it was clear that Hayes was not fully up to the task in terms of experience and ability as the main substitute. And the arrival of Kolok has filled the interior vacancy that the Lakers urgently need to a certain extent.
Colok isn't a player with a big name, but his performances with the Raptors have impressed. In the 2022-23 season, Crook played in 58 games for the Raptors, averaging 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game. This black, hard center is exactly the kind of defensive interior partner that Bushy Eyebrows needs.
Kolok was selected by the Raptors with the 33rd pick in 2022, and Kolok's template before the draft was considered by the media to be Capela, the former center of the Rockets, who is good at interior defense and rebounding, which is enough to see what the industry expects from him. The arrival of Crook may ease the pressure on the Lakers on the inside. The Lakers' move to sign Crook shows how seriously the team values thick eyebrows. Despite being a little sluggish in the pre-season, the signing is at least a statement that they don't want to be unhappy.
However, such a petty signing made Lakers fans scoff. Fans are already very dissatisfied with the Lakers' operation this offseason, especially Pelinka's "picking up rags" signings. This time, the signing of the little-known Kolok, although it is not a small operation, has made Lakers fans angry with Pelinka for inaction again. Speaking of which, Pelinka's job is actually quite difficult to do.
Let's see if Crook can play well with the Lakers in the new season to respond to these doubts.