The Los Angeles Lakers have two primary concerns for the rapidly-approaching free agency period: strengthen the wings and bolster the frontcourt around their star backcourt pairing of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The Brooklyn Nets just robbed them of two underrated options they could have explored on the open market.
After declining the team options on both Josh Minott and Day'Ron Sharpe, the Nets have secured both of their futures in Brooklyn on new deals. Shams Charania reported Minott is sticking around on a two-year, $9 million contract. The NBA insider then followed up with an update about Sharpe and the Nets agreeing to a two-year, $20 million deal.
Neither of those two contracts break the bank, by any means. Had those players hit free agency, they would have been intriguing and affordable names to address the needs on the wings and in the frontcourt. The Lakers will not get a chance at either.
Josh Minott could have been a valuable two-way wing for the Lakers
2025-26 was easily the best campaign of Minott's career. The young forward averaged the most minutes in a season of his career at 17.0 per game, and made them count.
Minott put up 7.4 points per game between his time with the Nets and Boston Celtics this past NBA year. During his 16 appearances with Brooklyn, in particular, that figure was at 10.8.
One of the main reasons he would have been an attractive option for the Lakers is his shooting ability. Minott was knocking down 41.8 percent of his 3.1 3-point attempts this season. Even when his volume went up to 4.8 a game with the Nets, that mark still remained stable at 39.5 percent.
Coupling his shooting ability with his solid defense made Minott an easy player to envision in Los Angeles. The 3-and-D archetype is in high demand around Doncic. The 23-year-old forward would have fit like a glove.
Day'Ron Sharpe could have bolstered the frontcourt depth in Los Angeles
Sharpe was never going to be someone who could fill the starting center spot on the Lakers. However, the Nets center would have been a quality option to look at for the backup spot.
Sharpe is a high motor player who can have that energy show up mightily in games. Where this shines the most is his activity on the boards. The 24-year-old center has a career average of 2.6 offensive boards in just 15.5 minutes per game. Those extra opportunities should never be taken for granted.
Shooting 60.1 percent on his field goal attempts in 2025-26 could have also made him a fit on offense to finish plays down low from Doncic or Reaves. That was a career high for Sharpe in that department.
Of the two, Minott is the more disappointing miss. Even so, both him and Sharpe are two under-the-radar options taken off the board which hurt the Lakers' ability to fill out the roster in free agency.
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