The Los Angeles Lakers signed yet another experienced veteran to the roster as the team has reportedly agreed to a deal with former all-star center DeAndre Jordan. Jordan was traded to the Detroit Pistons and subsequently waived. The move cannot be made official until Monday.
This could be the bookend of a busy offseason for the Lakers. This brings the roster up to 14 players, which has been the reported number that the Lakers wanted to get to in the offseason. The idea is that the team will leave the 15th and final roster spot open for an in-season buyout signing.
There is a chance that the team makes another signing in the offseason still. While I doubt they would sign a player for the 15th roster spot at this point in time, there is the potential of the team parting ways with Marc Gasol. It reportedly is not a guarantee that he returns next season and the Lakers could even trade him and open up a roster spot in the process.
Regardless, the Los Angeles Lakers should be looking ahead at future buyout candidates.
It is somewhat easy to project the players that will be bought out as they are highly paid players who play on bad teams who are looking to save some money by buying them out. These players are typically on the last year of their deal, however, between Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan we have seen two recent buyouts include two seasons.
A lot is going to happen between now and the buyout market. The Lakers’ needs could shift and the market could grow or shrink. As it stands right now, here are the four most intriguing future buyout candidates. Some of which would fit the Lakers roster nicely, others would require some rotation maneuvering.
1. Gary Harris
Gary Harris was included in the trade that landed Aaron Gordon in Denver. While Harris is a talented player, he was in the deal for salary reasons and he is set to make $21 million this upcoming season.
While he is not yet at the point of his career where he is only going to get minimum offers, it is hard to see a team putting the contracts and assets together to trade for Harris. Orlando is going to have a hard time moving him, making it more likely that he gets bought out.
There really is no reason for Harris to play the entire season in Orlando. Orlando is in a rebuilding phase and Harris does not move the needle at all. He can provide depth in the first half of the season and the Magic can save some money by allowing him to sign on with a contender to end the season.
The 26-year-old guard would add shooting guard depth to the Lakers, which might be needed if Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore disappoint (both are possible). Harris does not do anything great, but he does have the potential to get hot and knock down shots from beyond the arc, even if he is only a 35.9% career three-point shooter.
2. Thaddeus Young
While it is nice that the Los Angeles Lakers signed another big it would have helped the team more if that big was a power forward. There was a larger need at the power forward position as it would have taken some minutes away from Anthony Davis while allowing him to play more center and adding depth there as a result.
On the flipside, adding Jordan does allow Davis to do more of what he likes, play the power forward position, while easing him into playing more five, which he absolutely has to do once the playoffs roll around.
As the Lakers make that transition of Davis playing more five with the intent of mostly phasing out the centers in the playoff rotation, they could look to pick up a power forward. If they are lucky, Thaddeus Young would be on the market.
Young as a throwaway contract that was included in the DeMar DeRozan trade. While he is a sneaky good power forward that can help with floor spacing, he is not going to move the needle much for San Antonio, who project to be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference next season.
There is a better chance that Young gets traded as his contract is $14.5 million but it is not a guarantee. It would take a contending team flipping a valuable young asset with a similar contract to convince the Spurs and to make the money work. Is it worth trading a younger rotation player for Young? Probably not.
3. Patrick Beverley
Patrick Beverley was included in the odd trade for Eric Bledsoe that resulted in Rajon Rondo getting bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies and signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead of getting bought out by Memphis, Beverley was then flipped in another confusing move for Jarrett Culver to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Why Minnesota would give up a young asset like Culver for Patrick Beverley is beyond me. Beverley is a really good piece to have on a contending team but he is not going to change the culture of the Timberwolves, especially in the tough Western Conference.
The Timberwolves are still going to be horrible and there is a good chance that Beverley is a buyout candidate. Like Young, another team would have an easier time trading for Beverley’s $13.3 million salary, but a buyout is still possible.
Beverley would fit the defensive identity that the Lakers have built over the last two seasons and would replace the defensive loss of Alex Caruso, which is going to have a much bigger impact on this team than many people realize.
The only drawback of Beverley is that the team really does not need another point guard. Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn and Rajon Rondo is a fine point guard rotation and it would be hard to fit Beverley into that mold.
However, the Lakers could go unconventional because of Beverley’s defensive prowess and Westbrook’s size and run a combination that has Beverley alongside Westbrook (or Nunn/Rondo) in the backcourt.
The Lakers could run a really fun three guard lineup (similar to what OKC did with Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Dennis Schroder) with Westbrook, Beverley and THT/Ellington with LeBron and Davis in the frontcourt.
With Beverley’s defense, Westbrook’s athleticism and THT’s length, that is not a bad outlook whatsoever.
4. Kevin Love
Kevin Love is definitely the most intriguing name on this list. Not only is he the biggest name, but he does fit a potential need for the Los Angeles Lakers. As we mentioned with Young, there is a chance that the Lakers will be looking to phase the traditional centers out and play Davis more at the five. Love would be perfect for that.
Love also has connections to the Lakers that cannot be ignored. Not only did he win a championship with LeBron James, but he and Russell Westbrook were college teammates at UCLA and seem to have a great relationship.
And while it does not really mean anything now, he did play high school basketball for the Lake Oswego Lakers. It seems to be a match made in heaven.
The reason why he is last on this list is that his agent recently came out and said that Love was not interested in working out a buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That being said, Love might be holding out hope that some team will come along and trade for him, which as we saw with Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and others, it is not going to happen.
Another half a season of being terrible and realizing that no team is going to trade for him might push Love over the edge to request that buyout. If that happens the Cavaliers should have no problem obliging.
The Kevin Love to LA dream might be dead for now, but there is a good chance that it is reborn in five months’ time when the Cavaliers are 15-30 and Love is only taking minutes from young forward Evan Mobley.
If he does have a change of heart then the first team that should call him in free agency is the Los Angeles Lakers.