Doing their due diligence, the Lakers were on the phone at midnight making the rounds, reaching out to nearly every free agent on the market. Leaving no stones unturned, the Lakers made contact with Rich Paul, LeBron James‘ agent, and also Carmelo Anthony, setting up a meeting for later in the week.
In total, the Lakers reached out to the following free agents:
Among the teams that contacted Jordan Hill last night per league source: Lakers, Celtics, Rockets, Mavericks.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 1, 2014
Lakers, Heat and Bulls join OKC in reaching out to Thunder vet Caron Butler. Butler picked OKC over Heat last year after buyout from Bucks.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 1, 2014
I'm told Jodie Meeks received calls from "number of teams" including Lakers. Unclear what those other teams are.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 1, 2014
Los Angeles Lakers have reached out to Kent Bazemore, his agent tells me. The Celtics, Mavericks and Hawks have also shown interest as well.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 1, 2014
The Lakers also placed a call tonight to Rich Paul, the agent for LeBron James
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 1, 2014
Lakers have expressed interest in Chandler Parsons, source told ESPN. Others include Dallas and Chicago. Phoenix also interested.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) July 1, 2014
Aside from contacting their own free agents, the Lakers reaching out to guys like Chandler Parsons and Caron Butler signify that they’re casting a very, very wide net.
The Lakers will be focusing on Melo and LeBron to start, with plan B sounding more like bringing in Chris Bosh and resigning Pau Gasol. Regardless, with just six players currently on the roster, the Lakers have a lot of work to do to bring in some talent.
Over the coming days and weeks, the Lakers will likely be linked to every free agent imaginable. With a blank slate, the Lakers are open to moving in any direction. Obviously, LeBron and Melo will be the biggest targets.
In terms of bringing back their own free agents, those players will be on the Lakers back burner, which certainly hurts the chances of them returning. While the Lakers have interest in them, so much revolves around the decisions of Melo and LeBron to determine cap space and roster needs. On the same hand, the Lakers may not be as willing to give them the money other teams would.