The Los Angeles Lakers will have to rely on bargain hunting this year. They will be prime contenders on the buyout market as their limited assets make trades tough to come by.
The Los Angeles Lakers sit at the top of the Western Conference as we just surpassed the halfway mark of the season. They have excelled on both ends of the floor and besides some hiccups a few weeks back, they have played elite basketball.
Truth is, no matter your views on basketball, the Lakers are contenders. They boast a superstar duo and a ton of glue guys with experience. From top to bottom, you won’t find many teams that have the playoff experience the Lakers have.
They possess multiple guys who have championships in their careers. They also have multiple guys who have won two or more championships in their careers. Experience is not something that you can buy, some players have it and know what it takes to win at the moment.
Others aren’t so lucky. Some players never won a championship despite being a star. Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Chris Paul, these guys either didn’t or haven’t won a ring. One of the hardest things to do in sports is to maintain consistency and win championships.
The Lakers are tight on the cap, they’re also limited on assets. They used almost everything in the tank to bring in Anthony Davis. It has paid its dividends so far as you see in the standings, but now the team will be relegated to bargain hunting.
The team will be contenders for buyout candidates that are looking to win a ring. The way it works is a player negotiates a deal where they give up some salary to get bought out. That team saves money and the player gets to go seek out a contender to play on.
We take a look at four candidates that the Lakers could make a play for on the market. Each of these players has made their money and could prove beneficial to a contender. Each would be available at the veteran’s minimum to possibly finish out the season.