The Los Angeles Lakers and Jose Calderon might be headed toward a buyout, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.
While the Lakers did their due diligence to offload expiring contracts before the trade deadline, they only had luck with Marcelo Huertas. You know, like we all expected.
Nick Young was reportedly available for a second-rounder, but seeing as he is still on the team, the Lakers likely didn’t get an offer for the streaky 31-year-old shooter. The same could be said of Jose Calderon, who despite could offer a team a floor-spacing guard off the bench, turns 36 in September. It’s hard to imagine anyone was offering anything meaningful for the Spanish guard.
Instead, they were probably hoping Calderon to hit the open market via a buyout with the Purple and Gold like the Cavs reportedly were earlier this season. ESPN’s Marc Stein gave those teams some good news on Saturday.
Story going online now: The Lakers and veteran guard Jose Calderon are exploring their buyout options, ESPN has learned.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 25, 2017
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As for teams interested in the sweet-shooting Spaniard, Stein named the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers as potential landing spots. However, Stein also mentioned the fact that Deron Williams, who cleared waivers on Friday, is almost a lock to sign with Cleveland.
The Warriors have an open roster spot they can use on Calderon after they waived Anderson Varejao earlier this month. He won’t play a ton of minutes wherever he goes unless it is a team in dire need of a backup point guard (looking at you, Washington).
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Wherever Calderon ends up, we wish him the best as he has been an absolute professional with the Los Angeles Lakers during his short time spent here.