The Los Angeles Lakers are not off to a great start and it is a bit disheartening. While there is plenty of time for the team to right the ship, the Lakers were perceived to be the bonafide title favorites in the Western Conference and they have not played like that thus far this season.
To be fair, the team has been battling with injuries that have impacted the play. LA has played more without LeBron James than with him and the rotation has missed several key pieces for most of the season.
Those pieces are returning to action and that helps the depth of the team but it also doesn’t help that not every player is playing up to par. Russell Westbrook has been the top example as he has played really poorly this season but there are role players, such as Kent Bazemore, who have not played well, either.
Hindsight is 20/20, and with hindsight, the Los Angeles Lakers will regret not signing certain free agents.
The Lakers were restricted to only signing players for the minimum because of the Westbrook deal and while that did limit the possible options, there still were veteran-minimum free agents that the Lakers could have afforded and would have worked nicely in LA.
Let’s dive into the three veteran free agents that Rob Pelinka should be kicking himself over for missing out on.