Lakers: 5 reasons why Maurice Harkless is a great free agent target

In order to repeat as NBA champs next season, the Los Angeles Lakers will need to fortify their roster in a few different ways. Maurice Harkless can really help.

As we await the official start of the player movement portion of this 2020 NBA offseason, most have identified a few key needs for the NBA world champion Los Angeles Lakers.

The biggest need is a ball-handling guard who can become the team’s third scorer in order to take the load off an aging LeBron James and help him age more gracefully.

But another need is at the wing spot.

Kyle Kuzma has been a big disappointment. After looking impressive in his first two seasons, he regressed in 2019-20, averaging just 12.8 points a game and posting low shooting numbers (43.6 percent from the field and 31.6 from 3-point range).

Markieff Morris was a nice pickup at midseason off the buyout market. He did his job, but he’s a flawed player, as he’s not a consistently great 3-point shooter nor an outstanding defender at all times.

In addition, while James is still the best player in the game, the Lakers need to start reducing his minutes, which means that they need another productive wing or two to fill in when James is resting.

So who should the Lakers pick up to fill that need?

Some have talked about Jerami Grant, who had a promising season for the Denver Nuggets. He’d be an outstanding get as a free agent, but he’ll likely command much more money than the Lakers would be able to pay him.

Therefore, Mo Harkless looks like the best option, for several reasons.