5. JaVale McGee
A fan favorite who was dealt in the offseason after spending the last two years on the team, Laker fans are very familiar with JaVale McGee. We loved him for his extraordinary athleticism and occasional freakish play, yet we were frustrated by his mental errors and his limitations. As such, there’s very little need to go into detail about what McGee provides on the court.
However, while he’d ironically be a great depth-piece on this year’s roster, the Lakers cannot sign him if he’s cut by Cleveland, nor can they trade for him.
As per Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus:
Lakers cannot sign JaVale McGee if he's cut by the Cavs - they cannot trade with the Cavs for McGee. If McGee is traded to another team - then if cut, they can sign him https://t.co/evuQt6WYtH
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) January 14, 2021
With Cleveland having a logjam of bigs in front of McGee on the depth chart such as Andrew Drummond, Kevin Love, Jarrett Allen, and Larry Nance Jr, it wouldn’t surprise me if they cut or traded McGee at some point.
However, for him to become a Laker again, he’d need for his new team to be the one to cut him or trade him.
Therefore, any pursuit of McGee would be quite convoluted, so I hope the front office doesn’t put their energy in that direction. However, if the right dominos were to fall, McGee is worth pursuing as a back up big. After all, he already knows the Lakers culture and the team’s systems.
Are there any cheap big men you’d like the Los Angeles Lakers front office to pursue that weren’t mentioned in the article? If so, mention them in the comments section below.