Los Angeles Lakers: 2 players LA must call ASAP after Trevor Ariza injury
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers signed Trevor Ariza to a minimum contract in the offseason, reuniting with the player who first made his name in the league by winning a championship in LA. It was exciting when he re-signed with the team but Laker fans must wait to see his debut in the purple and gold.
Ariza underwent surgery on his right ankle and will be re-evaluated in another eight weeks. Ariza is going to miss at the very least a month and a half of the regular season and it would not be surprising if it was more.
We already broke down how this injury highlights an offseason mistake that the Lakers made in not bringing in another power forward.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers can call one of two players to try and fix this problem.
There are not any power forwards that are worth the Los Angeles Lakers time on the free-agent market. However, the team can still add wing depth, which is now desperately needed with Ariza’s injury.
The Lakers have an open roster spot that is presumably being saved for an in-season move. That does not restrict the team from signing someone now, though. They could always agree to a partially guaranteed deal or simply waive the player at midseason and take the tax hit.
They probably wont’ do that, as the billion-dollar franchise is pinching pennies against the tax, but they could. There absolutely is room for the Lakers to add one of these two players and after Ariza’s injury, Rob Pelinka should be giving them a call.