Free agency is approaching, and teams are preparing their best offers for the players that are the highest on their boards. The Lakers, who traded for Anthony Davis a couple of weeks ago, have a slot for one more max-contract player, but should they sign one?
The big guys
Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Kawhi Leonard, D’angelo Russell, Jimmy Butler. Those are the 5 names being thrown around every second of every day when talking about who the Lakers should sign. None of them seem very likely at the moment however, as they all reportedly have their eyes set on another franchise heading in to free agency.
The Lakers already have 2 MVP-caliber players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Even if we can assume that either one of those 5 players mentioned wants to sign with the Lakers, it will be very hard for the Purple and Gold to pull this off.
Depending on when the trade becomes official and on if Davis accepts his trade kicker, the Lakers have anywhere between $27m and $32m dollars to sign a player. Signing one of those top guys would leave them no room at all to sign any quality role player, as teams can only use their exceptions (anywhere between $5m-$8m) to sign players when they go over the cap, or they can just sign players to a minimum contract to fill out the roster.
Casual fans think that a superteam of LeBron and AD with Kuzma and another star will be unbeatable, but that’s far from the truth. Remember when LeBron said that the Cavs were top-heavy a couple of years back? This is the definition of top-heavy. 3 superstars, one high-volume shooting guy in his 3rd season and a bunch of minimum contract players.
The others
This should lead the Lakers to another path. All of that cap space can be used for a few very good role players. LeBron and AD are already 2 top-10 players in the league, you don’t need another star. Not everyone can have the dominoes fall for them the right way like Golden State. Having that many stars is simply unrealistic.
And this is the best summer for the Lakers to sign a bunch of role players, because there are a lot of stars waiting for their money, which means that the “lesser” guys will get less money. And if you look at the pool of players available, the Lakers could put together a very nice team.
Guys like Patrick Beverley, Danny Green, Terrence Ross, the Morris twins, Derrick Rose, JJ Reddick, Darren Collison, Set Curry, Trevor Ariza and many more are free agents this summer. They might come cheap like previously mentioned, because all the money will go to the top 10 to 15 guys available.
Signing a bunch of those guys would add defense, shooting and depth to their roster, something that hasn’t always been on LeBron’s side of things. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a dysfunctional front office like the one the Lakers have make the mistake of signing a big name and neglect depth. You’re only as good as your worst player, and that’s something Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss should keep in mind before July 30th when the clock strikes 6 PM, as that’s when the free agency clock starts ticking.
Courtside 