Los Angeles Lakers: 4 reasons why LA should sign Kent Bazemore
By Jason Reed
Free-agent forward Kent Bazemore makes a lot of sense for the Los Angeles Lakers.
This NBA offseason is going to be a wild one and the Los Angeles Lakers have already made one of the biggest moves of the offseason thus far. The Lakers flipped Danny Green and the 28th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to Oklahoma City for point guard Dennis Schroder.
The trade will not be finalized until after the draft as the Lakers cannot technically trade their first-round pick until after the pick has been made but the trade has been agreed to in principle and Laker fans can expect to see Schroder in LA next season.
We have already broken down that trade and what Schroder will bring to the table here at Lake Show Life. Now, we are invested on what could come next both in trades and via free agency.
And when evaluating the free-agent class one name jumped out on the page: Kent Bazemore. Here are four reasons why the Lakers should be interested in signing Bazemore this offseason.
1. He is a great replacement option for Danny Green
We mentioned the Schroder trade for a reason. Kent Bazemore is someone who would be a cheap, but fantastic, replacement after trading Danny Green.
The Lakers did the right thing in trading Green for a bigger area of need at the point guard position, especially with how poorly Green played in the NBA bubble. However, that still creates a (smaller) need elsewhere and the Lakers are now going to need to replace that wing presence that Green brings to the table.
Wesley Matthews has already been rumored to be a target for the Lakers. Matthews would be fantastic but the Lakers should not stop there as Bazemore would help add wing depth, even with Matthews.
It is more than just replacing Green on the depth chart, though. What is equally as important is what Bazemore brings to the table.