Los Angeles Lakers: 5 potential summer signings to watch closely

The Los Angeles Lakers are really struggling this season and have only won two games after the NBA All-Star Break — both of which take 50-point performances from LeBron James for the team to squeak out a victory.

While some may still have hope in the team getting to the play-in and making a run, a lot of Laker fans have already turned their attention to the offseason and next season. A big storyline looms over the Los Angeles Lakers in Russell Westbrook and it will be interesting to see how the team handles that.

Regardless, the Lakers are going to have to bring in new free agents as this year’s cast just did not cut it and just like last summer, the Lakers are likely going to be stuck adding minimum players. Even if the team trades Westbrook they would get a salary that is close in return, restricting the team from making many deals.

While there are things such as the bi-annual exception and the Taxpayer’s Mid-Level Exception to utilize, the Lakers front office should be doing their early homework on potential veteran minimum signings.

There are five potential summer signings in particular that the Los Angeles Lakers should start watching closely.

None of these players are going to turn the Los Angeles Lakers into the title favorites but perhaps they could add better depth than existed on the team this season. At this point, that is all we can really hope for in the summer.