4 Fringe Lakers players who deserve to return next season

With the Los Angeles Lakers looking ahead to next season, management will be assessing the roster to see which players still work as long-term fits, and which ones need to be moved in exchange for better fits for the team's mission going forward.

Bear in mind that if LeBron James does indeed return, he will playing out the tail end of his career, with next season possibly even being his last. He will want to make sure the roster suits his desires and gives them what he believes to be their best chance at winning a championship.

With that in mind, the roster moves the Lakers make this summer may not necessarily make a ton of sense to outsiders. But there are certainly some players that were outside LA's main rotation last season that deserve to come back for another shot.

1. Max Christie

One of those players is Max Christie. The Lakers' 2022 draft selection was brought in with the understanding that it would take some time for him to develop. The front office liked his upside at both ends of the floor, and they invested in him as a prospect that could help LA in the near future.

Two years in, it does not seem that Christie has panned out quite as quickly as management may have initially hoped. Max has had his moments as an energy guy throughout the last couple of seasons, but he has spent a lot of time with the South Bay Lakers in the G League

As a result, we have not seen him afforded enough opportunity with the NBA club for us to truly say he is not ready. Christie's upside is still exciting, and he deserves to come back, even if just on a one-year deal.