2. Lou Williams
Lou Williams has not signed a minimum contract yet in his career but he definitely is going to be in that market if he does play another season. Williams will turn 36 years old at the start of next season and it would not be totally shocking if he decided to hang it up for good.
However, Williams still has not won an NBA Championship and that desire to win a ring could very well keep him in the loop for another year or two. The Lakers need more depth than any other contender and could heavily push for Williams to return to LA for what could potentially be his last season as a pro.
At his best, Williams can still be a microwave scorer off the bench that can swing certain parts of games. However, there are holes in Williams’ game that cannot be ignored. Not only is he no longer the same shot creator that he used to be, but he is a really poor defender.
The Lakers had several poor-defending shotmakers on the bench last season and that is part of the reason why the team struggled. Williams cannot play next to someone like Carmelo Anthony or Malik Monk in key moments because of the defensive holes.
However, he can still add value as a bench scorer and if the Lakers do not plan on bringing Wayne Ellington back then replacing him with Williams does make sense.