Los Angeles Lakers: 2 young former Lakers to pursue in free agency

2. Isaac Bonga, member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-2019

We mentioned that Mykhailiuk likely would have been traded the next offseason if he was not traded at the deadline to make room for incoming stars and that is exactly what happened to Isaac Bonga.

Bonga survived the trade deadline but then was subsequently dumped in the offseason in a deal that was solely meant to open up space. Bonga was traded alongside first-round pick Moritz Wagner and Jemerrio Jones to the Washingotn Wizards, who were looped into the Anthony Davis trade.

Mykhailiuk has a legitimate tool that the Lakers could use in the rotation next season. Bonga is more potential and would be a project for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is not going to have much of an impact on the team in 2021-22 but it could be a long-term play for the Lakers.

The most exciting thing about Bonga is his size and his potential to be a really good versatile defender. He has the baseline ability to take the ball up the court and initiate but can also operate as a wing. The ceiling of Bonga is a legitimate rotation player that can play the one through three and defend the one through three.

He is six-eight with a seven-foot wingspan, bringing in more shades of Talen Horton-Tucker. THT is already farther along in his development but Bonga is only 21 years old and has plenty of time to develop.

Bonga has not really been in the best situations in his career. He played for Luke Walton, who we all know is a bad coach, then spent two years on the not-so-great Wizards. Frank Vogel and his staff are all about maximizing player’s defensive potential and there is a lot of defensive potential there.

It might not end up working out and fans should not get too excited but there is legitimate potential there with Bonga that is waiting to be tapped into by the right team.