Los Angeles Lakers: Four free agents to sign with the mid-level exception
By Jason Reed
Right now, fans of the Los Angeles Lakers are patiently waiting to see if the NBA season can resume so the Lakers can finish what they started and have a chance to win championship number 17.
Whether or not that is going to happen is unclear. What is clear, though, is that if the season is canceled it will not alter the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason plans, which should still be to make the team better than it was in 2019 in any way possible.
The biggest narrative surrounding the Lakers heading into the offseason is Anthony Davis. Davis has a player option this offseason and will most likely opt-out to sign a long-term deal. It seems fairly likely that he will return to Los Angeles.
On top of that, the Lakers are going to look to add any assets they can but with Davis’ new contract, the team is not going to have a lot of flexibility cap-wise. Thus, things such as the veteran minimum and mid-level exception become super important.
Both the veteran minimum and MLE allow the Lakers to go over the salar cap figure to sign talent. The Lakers are allowed one MLE signing this offseason. If they are a taxpayer (meaning they go over the $139 million luxury tax threshold) then the MLE will be worth roughly around $5.7 million in 2020. If they do not go over then it will be worth $9.7 million.
Teams can sign players for one season using the MLE or up to four seasons. Every season there is a five percent raise in salary.
There are four free agents that stand out as potential mid-level exception signings for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Players towards the end of their careers who are still worth more than the veteran minimum are perfect targets for the mid-level exception. Here are four free agents that make sense as MLE signings.