The Los Angeles Lakers did not bring in the best crop of free agents last summer and it showed with the results on the court. On top of having an overpaid point guard who simply did not fit on the roster, the Lakers had some of the worst depth in the entire league.
Since the Lakers were restricted to mostly signing minimum contracts, there are quite a few free agents from last year’s team that are looking for new homes. They may not be the biggest names on the market, but most should be able to find a new home next season… but not all.
Predicting where each Los Angeles Lakers free agent lands this offseason:
Not on a roster to start 2022-23 season: Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore, D.J. Augustin
Avery Bradley was almost out of the league entirely if it was not for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bradley was a member of the Golden State Warriors during the preseason and was cut from the team right before the 2022-23 season began.
The Lakers came in and signed Bradley to a non-guaranteed contract to fill the 15th roster spot. The entire reason why he was non-guaranteed was so the Lakers could cut him without paying more against the luxury tax to sign any potential buyout targets.
No targets came and Bradley’s contract was fully guaranteed. Frank Vogel really loved Bradley and played him far more than he should have. Eventually, Vogel came to his senses and Bradley was essentially out of the rotation.
That also happened to Kent Bazemore, but much earlier. Bazemore got the opportunity to play big minutes early on with the Lakers suffering multiple injuries and was absolutely horrible. He quickly played himself out of the rotation and with how bad he was last season, it would be shocking to see him get an NBA contract before the season begins.
D.J. Augustin came over as a buyout guy and actually played quite decent in LA. However, he is an undersized point guard who can’t defend and is going to turn 35 in November.