Now that the draft is over the Lakers can focus their attention on NBA free agency. Free agency starts tomorrow, July 1st, and there's about a week moratorium when teams can officially sign players to contracts. So who is available and who should the Lakers target? That's probably a question best answered by first knowing how much spending money the Lakers have. LA should have about $23m in cap space this summer. There is a small chance that they could trade Nick Young and Ryan Kelly which could get them in the ball park of $29m to spend. However that is unlikely to occur. So assuming the Lakers will have about $23m in space (plus a small $2.8m exception), let's look at their roster and see where the needs are:
Roster as of 06/30/2015
Guards (PG or SG)
Jordan Clarkson
D'Angelo Russell
Kobe Bryant
Nick Young
Jabari Brown
Wings (SF)
Anthony Brown
Bigs (PF or C)
Julius Randle
Tarik Black
Ryan Kelly
Larry Nance Jr.
Robert Sacre
The Lakers have the most need at the wing position and at the center spot. At the moment they don't have starting quality NBA talent at those positions. It is possible for them to play other players in those spots, for example Kobe and Nick Young are capable of playing SF if need be, but it is less than ideal. Mitch Kupchak will look to fill these holes as best he can this summer. But he will go into free agency with the understanding that he may not be able to fill all the holes in one offseason, and that it's not possible to get an all star at every position either.
So let's a take a look at some of the names the Lakers have been linked to in rumors. Remember that rumors are worth about as much as we pay for them. In this case they're free so...take from that what you will lol :). I'll also include if I think that player would be good for this team or not and why. In the last section I'll discuss my top 2 hopes for this summer's FA signings.
Player Rumored to be signed by the Lakers
Kevin Love - Do not want - Most people would say why don't you want Love? My answer is simple. He's injury prone and doesn't play much defense. In addition to that he commands $19m in salary. We only have $23m to spend. I'll pass on him. 2 years ago I would have loved to have him.
Rajon Rondo - DO NOT WANT - Notice I put this one in all caps? It's for emphasis. He can't play effectively anymore, shoots free throws worse than Dwight Howard, has an attitude worse than Dwight Howard's, and would take playing time away from our young guards in Clarkson and Russell. Even if the league paid us to take him I still wouldn't sign him. Puke.
DeAndre Jordan - Yes please - He fills the gaping hole we have at center. He's a rim protector and he's athletic enough to run on the break. He's also an excellent rebounder. He finishes everything within reach of the basket at a high percentage. He'd take up nearly all of our $23m in cap space but he'd be worth it because he brings a lot of things we desperately need. The only downside is his free throw shooting. But it's been statistically proven that strategy actually works against the team using it. Would love to have DJ on this team.
LaMarcus Aldridge - I guess - I'm on the fence about this one. He's an all-star player with lots of experience. My reservation only comes from the fact that he doesn't have the rim protection that we need and in the past he's been hesitant to play at center. Like Love and DJ he would take up essentially all of the open space we have. It's worth noting that while I'm on the fence about this I don't think the Lakers are, they would sign him in a heart beat if given the opportunity.
Greg Monroe - No thanks - Monroe will likely wind up on the Knicks which is a good thing because I certainly don't want him here. He is too slow to be a good defender at the power forward or center position. And his offensive game is really inefficient.
Those are some of the more well known players rumored to be pursued by the Lakers. For a full list of 2015 NBA free agents go here: http://www.nba.com/freeagents/2015/
My plans for the Lakers free agency are very simple. Go after the best player available. If you don't get him, then get complimentary role players/pieces since Kevin Durant, Mike Conley, etc. will be free agents next year.
Plan A: Sign DeAndre Jordan ($19m), Sign a SF with the remainder Alfariq Aminu/Rudy Fernandez/Dorrell Wright ($4m)
Plan B: Sign Tyson Chandler ($12m), Sign Danny Green ($11m)
Let me explain Plan B a bit because I haven't talked about those players before. Tyson Chandler is pretty much the same style of player as DeAndre Jordan. He is much cheaper than Jordan because he is much older. He's 32. However he can still be a solid contributor, and he'd serve as the perfect mentor to a player like Robert Upshaw who is currently signed to the Lakers summer league team. Chandler would get a chance to finish off his career in his hometown and make one last decent contract. Danny Green would be able to play SF or SG. His specialty is shooting 3 pointers at a high percentage and playing pretty good defense. He is a solid veteran with championship experience from San Antonio. Adding another vet to the locker room helps Kobe and he'd also be a good mentor for Anthony Brown who the Lakers drafted at #34. To me there wouldn't be much of a drop off from Plan A to Plan B. Although Plan A makes a much bigger splash in marketing and ratings.
The next article will cover the Lakers other two draft picks this year, Larry Nance Jr. and Anthony Brown, so stay tuned!
Also, on July 23rd I'll be apart of a team doing missionary work in Kenya. We'll be working in Kibera Slums which is the largest slum in Africa and is home to over 2 million people. There is one toilet with plumbing for every 2000 people there. We are in need of prayers and financial assistance. If you'd like to give you can at the link below:
www.wateroflifecc.org/gorgive
Register and then hit the give to teams button to select "2015 - Kenya Team 1" and my name is Jason
Thank you SO MUCH for your help. Any amount counts :)
Thanks for reading, go Lakers!!!
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