After a myriad of strong moves that were part of a great showing in NBA free agency, the Los Angeles Lakers have 13 players on the roster with two spots to fill before the 2023-24 season.
Fans already know that the Lakers are going to add another big to the roster at some point. Rob Pelinka admitted that the team is still active in the free-agent center market. Add in the fact that Jaxson Hayes may start — instead of coming off the bench — alongside Anthony Davis and it is clear that the team needs another center.
Los Angeles still has the means to add another player to the roster, though. LA may look to leave a roster spot open for an eventual buyout target but that doesn’t mean the team has to leave a roster spot empty without any sort of future plan. LA can have its cake and eat it too, signing two players now and still having a way to sign a promising buyout in the future.
All that being said, it does not appear that the team has any interest in actually utilizing both roster spots as LA seemingly has no interest in a perfect free-agent target. Reuniting with former Laker Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk would be a solid move by the team but instead, Mykhailiuk is reportedly choosing between the rivaled Boston Celtics and playing in Greece.
Svi Michaliuk reportedly choosing between Celtics minimum deal and signing with Panathinaikos in Greece... either way it's a white and green uniform with a shamrockhttps://t.co/7o5zM1u3Ni
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) August 3, 2023
Lakers are foolish to not even consider signing Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
If Myhailiuk is choosing between the Celtics and playing in Greece then it is probably safe to say that the Lakers are not calling his agent looking to sign him. And while he might not fit the center need, Mykhailiuk would still bring value to Los Angeles.
There is no such thing as having too much three-point shooting on the roster and while the Lakers have better shooters, the team is still rather thin in that department. Having another guy that can get hot off the bench and swing some regular-season games is valuable, especially with the lack of depth at the two guard.
As it stands right now, the only shooting guards the Lakers have are Austin Reaves and an unproven Max Christie. Of those two, the only traditional shooting guard is Christie. If he is not ready for a bigger role in the rotation then the team is really going to be struggling with filling out minutes at that position.
Mykhailiuk can play the two and would have given LA a solid 10-12 minutes off the bench to knock down shots as an off-ball shooter. Instead, he will be doing that same thing for the Lakers’ biggest rivals or overseas.