5 free agents in the playoffs the Lakers could target

1 of 6

Apr 12, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and guard Chris Paul (3) react during an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. The Clippers defeated the Kings 115-95. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

For the fourth straight year, the Los Angeles Lakers are out of the NBA Playoffs and headed for the lottery. Instead of awaiting for the draft with hopes of drafting a star player, the Lakers can look to this year’s playoffs for free agents to target in the summer.

The NBA salary cap is projected at $101 million for the 2017-18 season. With L.A.’s current salary, which unfortunately includes the atrocious Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng contracts, they don’t have room to sign more than one max free agent.

They have to choose between signing a player to a max deal this summer or waiting until the 2018 summer to sign a max player like Paul George. No matter which route the Lakers decide to take, there will be both max players and quality contributors in this year’s free agency class. Quite a few of them happen to be on teams in the running for a championship.

Here is a list of five free agents currently in the playoffs that the Lakers should consider targeting this summer.

Home/Lakers Free Agency