Los Angeles Lakers: 5 potential buyout candidates to target

5. Carmelo Anthony

We may as well get this one out of the way first. Since Carmelo Anthony and the Houston Rockets agreed to part ways, he has been linked to the Lakers.

For weeks, the Lakers have been rumored as a landing spot, but they did not have a roster spot. Now that there is a roster spot available, expect the rumors to pick up once again.

Anthony’s relationship with LeBron James is a big reason why the two have been linked. However, Anthony’s scoring prowess is also something that could help the Lakers on their second unit. He could easily fill the role left behind by Michael Beasley as a go-to scorer off the bench.

Outside of the scoring, Anthony would provide very little else to the team. He isn’t a great defender and doesn’t rebound as well as he used to. Los Angeles would need to surround him with players that can help overcome his deficiencies. Luckily, the Lakers have some defensive-minded centers and some wing players that get after it on that end of the court.

The biggest knock against Anthony is that he hasn’t been playing. Melo has not been on an NBA court, in a game, since Nov. 8. While making an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump, Ramona Shelburne said his time away from the court could cause the Lakers to look elsewhere, as they would prefer someone who has played more recently.