Los Angeles Lakers: 4 defensive free agents that could be signed

4. Kelly Olynyk

Kelly Olynyk was traded to the Houston Rockets as part of the Victor Oladipo trade this past season and now finds himself as an unrestricted free agent. Olynyk is definitely worth more than a minimum contract and with the Lakers’ salary-cap situation, the only realistic way to add Olynyk is on the mid-level excpetion.

The MLE is worth $9.75 million next season and that is a fair value for what Olynyk brings to the table. The real question is if the Lakers would want to use the MLE on Olynyk or if there was someone else they had their eyes on.

Regardless, Olynynk would bring a solid defensive presence to the Lakers while also adding depth at the center position. Despite being able to play the five, Olynyk is not a good defender in the typical sense.

He is not the typical rebounding, shot-blocking center that we have seen the Lakers go after in the last two years. While he is a solid rebounder, he is someone who profiles more as an on-ball and even a perimeter defender more so than someone who camps near the rim.

This could be good for the Lakers as it would allow the team to better space the floor and not clog the lane while also having someone who is capable of scoring at the rim in Olynyk. In a nutshell, he could be a much better offensive version of Marc Gasol who is not as good of a passer.

Olynyk compiled the 33rd-most defensive win shares last season while posting an above-average DBPM.