3 minimum free agents that can bolster the Los Angeles Lakers defense

There was a lot that went wrong with the Los Angeles Lakers and it all stems from the decision to trade for Russell Westbrook last offseason. Perhaps the biggest shift from the previous two years under Frank Vogel was the team’s defense. Los Angeles played great defense the previous two seasons and then turned into a poor defensive team last season.

Part of it was a lack of effort from some of the veterans that was obvious from the first whistle of the preseason. The other reason why the team struggled defensively was all of the pieces that the front office added. There were so many poor defenders on this roster that had to be played together.

The Lakers are not going to turn into the defensive team that they were two seasons ago but with a (hopefully) healthy Anthony Davis, if the team just adds some talent then they could be in better shape.

The problem is that because of Westbrook’s contract, the Lakers really can only look into minimum free agents for the second summer in a row.

There are some minimum free-agent options that could help bolster the defense for the Los Angeles Lakers.

These are obviously not going to be elite options because if they were then they would not be going for the minimum. However, there still is value in minimum players on defense. Just look at Andre Iguodala, who had a great defensive season for the Warriors as a minimum signing.

Speaking of Warriors, let’s dive into the first option.