A lot is currently up in the air for the Los Angeles Lakers regarding the 2022-23 roster. The team very obviously wants to get rid of Russell Westbrook and the best-case scenario is a trade that brings Kyrie Irving to Los Angeles.
There are other potential options for the Lakers if an Irving trade does not happen but like the Irving trade itself, those are up in the air. Right now there is only one thing for certain with the roster: the team has one more spot to fill.
The Lakers roster is currently at 14 players. Whether the team signs someone, elevates a two-way contract, or gets an extra player via trade, there still is one more roster spot to utilize. But that begs the question: which position should the Lakers be targeting?
The 3 most likely positions the Lakers will use to fill the last roster spot:
3. Point guard
Of all five positions on the basketball team, point guard checks in as the third most likely for the Lakers to utilize. This completely has to do with the Lakers’ current situation with Russell Westbrook and what will happen if the team trades him for someone who is not a point guard.
If the Lakers make a Kyrie deal then the chances of adding a point guard go down as the team would have both Irving and Nunn. However, if the team trades for someone else, or even keeps Westbrook, the odds go up.
If the Lakers make a trade for say, Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, then they are going to need to add a point guard to play alongside Kendrick Nunn. Additionally, there is a world in which the Lakers don’t trade Westbrook but still tell him to go home and not play, which would obviously create the need for a point guard.
2. Shooting guard
The Lakers are pretty thin at the shooting guard position all things considered. That is even after the team used the lone contract it could utilize, the Taxpayer MLE, on signing a two-guard in Lonnie Walker IV.
Walker is young and has potential but also has not been very good thus far in his career. He has shot at a poor rate and has not played good defense in the slightest. We definitely see the same potential that the Lakers do but if Walker plays like he did last year then it is a problem.
Behind him, the Lakers have the likes of Talen Horton-Tucker, Austin Reaves and Max Christie to provide depth. Reaves plays point guard as well and is more of a combo guard, but because of his size, he probably will get more minutes as a two.
THT could get traded before the season begins for another position, Christie is super raw and is not going to get many minutes anyways and Reaves is fine but would need more help off the bench considering he is more of a combo guard.
Plus, Walker really should not be in a spot where he is being asked to play around 30 minutes per game. If that is the case then the Lakers are in trouble.
1. Power forward
This was a problem for the Los Angeles Lakers last season and it could be a problem for the team this season as well. Los Angeles does not have any real depth behind Anthony Davis at the point guard position, which does not make sense with how this roster is constructed.
Sure, they have forwards like Juan Toscano-Anderson and Troy Brown Jr. who could theoretically play a smaller four. But when it comes to traditional power forwards, the only real option is Wenyen Gabriel, who is not the best.
Granted, most of the players that the Lakers are tied to this offseason are not power forwards. However, even if they made a trade for Hield and Turner, they would essentially be getting another frontcourt presence like a backup power forward by adding Turner into the mix. Since he and Thomas Bryant can hit shots, that suffices.
Perhaps the most compelling person to give the final roster spot to is Cole Swider. The undrafted free agent was a sharpshooter at Syracuse and then turned that into being the best shooter during the entire Summer League.
3 early in-season buyout targets for the Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers need any help they can get this season and thus, the team should already be preparing for potential buyout targets.
The Lakers desperately lack three-point shooting and would really benefit from a stretch four who could hit shots at a clip as efficient as Swider. If I was Rob Pelinka, I would be converting his two-day deal into a standard NBA contract and give Jay Huff the other two-way spot.