The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be busy this offseason as the team looks to rebound from an extremely disappointing 2021-22 season. With so many minimum players on the roster last season, the Lakers are going to look to replace those players this offseason.
The problem is that the Lakers are only going to be able to replace those minimum players with other minimum players. Even if the Lakers do trade Russell Westbrook they are going to get similar salaries in return. Thus, the team will still likely be over the tax and will be restricted.
If the Lakers make a splashy move for Zach LaVine (which is more possible than you think) then they will definitely only be in the market for minimum players as they will be hard-capped at $149 million.
Regardless, the Lakers are limited in who they can bring in this offseason. And while there is talent that can be found on the minimum (just look at Malik Monk), there are also bad minimum players that won’t improve the team (like Kent Bazemore).
This offseason, there are 7 veteran free agents who the Los Angeles Lakers should absolutely avoid
Not counting the disappointing free agents that were on the Lakers last season (like Bazemore), there are 7 veteran free agents who should be signed for the minimum this offseason that the Lakers should stay away from.
Perhaps some of these players will turn it around and become a productive member of the rotation for another team. That is great for them. It likely won’t work out for the Lakers, hence why Rob Pelinka and co. should stay away.
And of course, we are only including players who actually have a chance of getting interest from the Lakers. This article could be dozens of players long if we just included every bad free agent in the league.