The Los Angeles Lakers signed a total of four players on the first day of free agency. Los Angeles re-signed restricted free agent Rui Hachimura and also brought in new players in the likes of Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince.
The Lakers also lost some players as well with Dennis Schroder being the most notable departure. Schroder was given a $26 million bag by the Toronto Raptors, so it is hard to blame the veteran point guard for leaving LA.
It was a good start for the Lakers but more work needs to be done. To complete a great offseason, the Lakers need to continue making savvy signings. There are some intriguing options with the team’s remaining resources (and for clarity’s sake, we are not including Austin Reaves in this article).
1. The Lakers are likely going to re-sign D’Angelo Russell
When the Lakers signed Vincent it looked less likely that the team was going to re-sign D’Angelo Russell. However, with Schroder leaving for Toronto the team really has no other option. LA is not going to want to lose the asset and get nothing in return, especially with the guard depth being thin.
Speculation rose about the Lakers potentially bringing Russell back on a two-year, $40 million contract. From a pure performance standpoint in the postseason, Russell is not worth anywhere close to that much.
However, it would at least give the Lakers continuity, regular-season depth and the ability to trade him as an expiring contract next summer if things are going sideways. At this point, it does not seem like any other teams are going to pay Russell and it is hard to find a different avenue for the Lake Show to take.