There were a lot of expectations for the 2024 Los Angeles Lakers offseason.
Before the NBA Draft, it was rumored Donovan Mitchell might be a Laker. Even before that, during last season’s trade deadline, it seemed likely that even Dejounte Murray or Trae Young would be throwing lobs up to Anthony Davis. Lakers fans also probably still haven’t gotten over the painful rejections from Klay Thompson or DeMar DeRozan.
But with all of this hype surrounding what the Lakers could potentially add to their roster, their most important signing this summer (other than LeBron James, of course) has gone very much under the radar.
The Contract
Max Christie signed a four-year, $32 million deal with a player option in the final year during this offseason.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, “retaining Max Christie was a priority for LA this summer.” In his sophomore season, Christie played 67 games, earning seven starts averaging 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists on 35.6% shooting from distance while showing upside as one of the best perimeter defenders on the Lakers’ roster.
One of his high points of the season was when he expertly defended All-NBA New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson throughout the fourth quarter of a Knicks-Lakers game in January in Madison Square Garden. He grabbed a big offensive rebound to seal the game for a 113-105 Lakers win.
Playing Time
Many Lakers fans, media members and even members of the Lakers organization, however, thought he could have played much more throughout the regular season.
In December, Christie was averaging almost 17 minutes per game, but by the time April rolled around, he was averaging less than six minutes per contest and was relegated to mostly garbage-time minutes.
The only time Christie would see significant minutes would be if other Lakers rotation players were injured or not playing. By the time the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs rolled around, Christie wasn’t getting any minutes at all.
The Lakers’ season ended on April 29th, but Christie’s last minutes were two weeks earlier on April 14th. It’s even rumored that Christie’s lack of playing time was one of the biggest sources of disagreement with former coach Darvin Ham, with sources speculating it could have been a factor in Coach Ham’s firing.
Christie even said it himself in his exit interview with the Lakers last year, stating, “I really wanted to be out there,” when referring to his lack of minutes played in LA’s first-round gentleman’s sweep against the Denver Nuggets, before somewhat metaphorically having his interview cut short because it was LeBron’s turn.
For those out there that wondered why Christie didn’t look for a change after his lack of playing time in a Lakers uniform, it’s not exactly something that is in his DNA. It actually stems back to college, when he made his college decision to be a Michigan State Spartan, turning down offers from prestigious programs like Duke, Villanova, Purdue, and Ohio State, because he had a “gut feeling that it felt right,” appreciating the greatness of legendary Spartans Coach Tom Izzo.
When asked on draft night about how he felt playing for the Lakers, he adopted a similar tune, stating, “It’s amazing. It’s surreal…I’m just happy to be part of the organization and contribute any way I can.”
College and the Draft
When the Lakers took Christie at pick 35, they believed very heavily in the potential upside that he had.
The Lakers at the time didn’t even own the rights to the 35th pick in the 2022 draft. Rather, Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka had to make a trade with the Orlando Magic for a future second-round pick and cash considerations to get the rights to draft Christie, a pick which Pelinka touted as a “consensus pick for the Lakers’ scout’ and front office,” and that it was a rare occurrence.
After one year at Michigan State, Christie was averaging 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while also shooting just 31.7% from beyond the arc. However, it’s important to note that according to outlets like CBS Sports, “Christie made a name as a Spartan on defense,” demonstrating that he could be the best perimeter defender on a team with young phenom Emoni Bates, who was the number one prospect in his draft class at the time.
Since then, he has developed an effective three-point shot, shooting a career 37.8% from beyond the arc in the NBA while becoming an excellent perimeter defender. His 6-foot-6 size along with his consistent work with esteemed former Lakers assistant Phil Handy, has demonstrated that he could be a high upside 3-and-D player.
Handy even said after Christie’s first game in the 2022 NBA Summer League California Classic, “Max is going to be great…I see Max in that wheelhouse of being able to do a plethora of things.” Another underrated fact about Christie: even after spending two years in the NBA, he is still two years younger than the most recent Lakers first-round pick: Dalton Knecht.
Christie’s Role in Los Angeles
Newly hired Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick mentioned Christie along with young Laker stars Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura as franchise cornerstones. It’s also much more likely that his role will expand this year, as the Lakers need to offset the bench production losses from Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie, who signed deals with the Bucks and the Mavericks, respectively.
While the Lakers may not have had the big splash this offseason that many fans expected, they did sign an incredibly talented young player to an affordable deal with limited risk.
Even better, with his gritty, hard-working mentality, defensive upside and excellent three-point shooting, he might be exactly the missing piece that LA needs.
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