Lakers’ next signing could be imminent after latest release made official

The Los Angeles Lakers have been stuck on 13 rostered players for over a month now as the team weighs its options ahead of the 2023-24 season. There is no doubt that the Lake Show will add to the roster before the start of the season, the team has simply decided to take a patient approach.

This approach has worked out nicely for the Lakers as new potential candidates have hit the market in recent weeks. All that waiting may finally be over, though, as the Lake Show’s next roster move could be imminent.

The Dallas Mavericks have officially waived JaVale McGee as of Tuesday. McGee needs to pass through waivers (he will) and then he will be free to sign with any team in the league. It was reported a week ago that the Mavericks were going to stretch and waive McGee. Now that it is official, the Lakers may be on the clock.

A JaVale McGee signing could be imminent for the Lakers

It has been no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to sign a center with the 14th roster spot for the 2023-24 season. Los Angeles reportedly prefers someone with a different skillset than Jaxson Hayes (someone who can shoot) but those options are pretty limited at this point in time.

With limited options on the market, McGee could make all the sense in the world for Los Angeles. All the team really needs is someone who can play 12 minutes a night in the regular season and take some of the load off of Anthony Davis. That is it.

McGee can provide that but he can also provide veteran leadership in the locker room. This is not a young group of players but it always helps to have that glue guy in the locker room that can bring the team together. Jared Dudley did that on the 2020 Lakers, a team that McGee was on.

Pelinka loves to bring back former Lakers as he has done so several times in the past. That, mixed with his veteran experience, very well could be the tiebreaker that leads the Lakers to sign McGee instead of a young unproven option, like Usman Garuba.

In a perfect world, McGee would be available on a non-guaranteed contract. Since he is already getting paid by the Mavericks anyway, he could be more willing to sign that kind of deal and do the Lakers a favor. That way, if an intriguing buyout option becomes available in a few months, the Lakers have the ability to release McGee if needed.

But even on a fully-guaranteed deal, McGee would check several boxes for the Lakers and would at the very least get the team to the trade deadline before it potentially looks to adjust.