Most Los Angeles Lakers fans were confident going into the postseason, despite being the #7 seed and facing a very strong Phoenix Suns in the opening round. However, after taking a 2-1 series lead, Anthony Davis’ groin injury late in the first half of Game 4 cemented the fate of the defending champs, as they proceeded to exit the playoffs in six games.
While most pundits agree that injuries to the team’s superstars were the biggest reason for the early exit, the much-lauded Laker roleplayers did not step up in their absence, with no players even approaching their regular season averages in the series.
The collective failure of The Lake Show’s roleplayers hasn’t gone unnoticed by NBA fans, with the blogosphere and social media already ablaze with potential moves the front office can make to content next season.
However, without significant salary cap manipulation, there aren’t many earth-shattering moves the Los Angeles Lakers can make.
As per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Sources: Projected future salary cap and tax. 2021-2022: $112.M and $136.6M; 2022-2023: $115.7M and $140M and 2023-2024: $119.2M and $144.9M
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2020
As of the time of writing, the Los Angeles Lakers’ salary for the 2021-22 season is $121.8 million. Unfortunately, most of that salary is guaranteed to be on the books next season, except for a $9.7 million player option for maligned big man Montrezl Harrell.
Just one season ago, the deal was lauded by many Laker fans, having seen it as slightly below market value for Trez. However, he might try and secure the guaranteed money given his poor performances this season.
Thus, it’s highly improbable that the front office will have the capacity to sign a max free agent or even a moderately expensive free agent apart from Dennis Schroder.
However, in the interest of exploring potential options from all the different price tiers, this article will suggest three players who should be on the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason wishlist. The first player mentioned will be someone who should be very cheap, the second player will come from the middle-tier of free agents, and the third player will belong to the most expensive tier of free agents.
Due to the team’s cap constraints mentioned above, the likelihood of signing these players will thus descend as we traverse the list.