There's no way to justify spending gear on Lobot when Malak is not fully geared. That's the point.
A number of people believe (in this thread: https://forums.galaxy-of-heroes.starwars.ea.com/discussion/202118/can-the-zeta-situation-be-improved/p1 ) that there's a zeta mat acquisition rate problem. I'm saying that this is one possible solution to that problem. I also believe the gear crunch that means no older character will ever be geared since the rate at which new characters are coming out outstrips the acquisition rate of gear at the free to play level.
This solution solves both problems, without affecting those who are willing to spend for the latest greatest character. If they were to solve either of these problems by increasing the rate at which we acquire things for free, it would mean the paying players would not need to pay as much. But the game is designed to be able to be played as free to play if you choose. This allows the free to play a way to catch up without giving much (if any) benefit to the paying customers. This would then force the paying players to pay more to keep ahead (which is a win for CG).