The Los Angeles Lakers are up against the NBA cap. It is the price you pay to put a championship roster together.
While the purple and gold failed in this endeavor this season, they did everything they could to put LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and coach Frank Vogel in the best position to win. The dedication to putting a championship roster together must be respected and while injuries robbed the Lakers of a chance to go back to back, this roster if fully healthy was as good as any roster in the NBA this season.
While it is very possible that the purple and gold run it back, with many of the players on the roster keen to get the band back together in pursuit of a ring, it is more likely that the Lakers learn from their mistakes and make some adjustments in order to fix some weaknesses that were glaring throughout the course of the season.
Expect players like Andre Drummond, Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, Wes Matthews, and potentially Dennis Schröder to make a return to the Lakers but there will still be numerous roster spots to fill and the purple and gold will want to bring in impactful players to join the Lakers brotherhood and add another storied chapter to the Los Angeles Lakers book.
With such salary cap restrictions, the Los Angeles Lakers will have to seek out some cost-effective options.
They will be seeking players who :
- Are ring chasing veterans who want to win a championship before they retire
- A former star who has made their millions and wants to win and doesn’t care about money
- Players who simply just want to be in LA and play with LeBron and AD and are willing to take discounts to get there and in turn get themselves some added exposure for another large contract.
A niche market, but there are still impactful players on the free agency market who can come in and make a difference.
Here are 3 low-risk high reward free agents the Los Angeles Lakers should chase.