2. Lou Williams, member of the Los Angeles Lakers from 2015-2017
The Los Angeles Clippers swapped Lou Williams for Rajon Rondo at the trade deadline this past season and the former Laker is now a free agent after this season. Atlanta does not have the cap space to retain him and it would be surprising if he stayed there after this season.
Williams very well could take the minimum from the Hawks but he is still worth more than that. While he shouldn’t get up to MLE money, at this point in his career Williams should get around a two-year, $10-12 million contract.
That is something the Los Angeles Lakers can afford, even with the pitfalls in Williams’ game. The problem with Williams is his defense and in the playoff when the game slows down that can be a problem. Look at Montrezl Harrell from this recent postseason.
However, Williams does possess a solid scoring presence that could come off the bench and add some juice to that unit. He can be masked defensively with the right scheme and can be someone who gets playing time with LeBron James to knock down shots as an off-ball threat.
Williams’ scoring has gone down and there is no arguing that he is on the decline but if the Lakers can get 10 points off the bench a night with 40% free-throw shooting that is a massive win.