The Los Angeles Lakers have had one of the best offseasons in the NBA fueled by savvy signings during NBA free agency. Not only was the team able to improve last season’s core but it was able to do it at a great cost.
Several members of last year’s team were brought back with the team making additions to the bench that have created a deeper roster. If the stars can stay healthy, the Lakers could be due for a 50-win season.
Not every member of last year’s team was offered to come back. Some were signed and some are still surprisingly looking for a job. It isn’t just players from last season’s team, either, as several former Lakers are still surprisingly unsigned.
3 former Lakers who are surprisingly still free agents:
Wenyen Gabriel
Wenyen Gabriel was a solid back-end rotation contributor for the Lakers over the last two years and while his skill set does not totally match with today’s NBA, it is surprising that a team hasn’t at least signed him.
Gabriel brings a type of energy off the bench that can be infectious and can really help a team get through the dog days of the winter in the regular season. He isn’t someone who you want playing 20 minutes per game, but as a change-of-pace option off the bench to play bully ball down low, he still has value.
Gabriel was struggling to find a team before the Lakers took a chance on him and he is experiencing the same issue now. With a pretty bad big-man market right now, you would think that Gabriel would be the next to sign, even if it’s just for training camp and the preseason.