LOS ANGELES, July 2 -- Somewhere between the first phone call and the final signature, the Los Angeles Lakers stopped being LeBron James's team. That transition had been coming for months. The franchise made it official on Tuesday by completing four roster moves in under an hour, spending $261 million in commitments, and betting the next chapter of one of professional basketball's most storied franchises on a 26-year-old from Ljubljana who has not yet played a playoff game in purple and gold.

The centerpiece was Walker Kessler, 25, acquired from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade worth four years and $130 million. The Jazz received unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. Before the aft...