The Los Angeles Lakers have certainly been tested early on in the 2023-24 season. While the two star players have stayed relatively healthy thus far, the team has had to deal with various injuries to role players that have really hurt the team's rotation.
All that being said, the purple and gold have still played well to start the year. It has not been a perfect start but it is hard to complain about a 10-7 start that is only 2.5 games worse than the top seed in the Western Conference.
There are still areas that the Lakers can improve in, however, and the team has an extra roster spot to utilize to make those improvements. While the Lakers might be saving the 15th roster spot for a buyout target, the team can still utilize it now for a free agent if they make sense for the team.
One prominent free agent who is still available on the market might make perfect sense for LA now that he is fully healthy. Forward TJ Warren told Hoops Hype in a recent interview that he is completely healthy and ready to contribute to an NBA team.
"I’m 100 percent healthy now. The foot injuries were a part of my career during those two years. I feel like I was reaching a crazy pinnacle right around the bubble. It was a great situation. Unfortunately, I had the injuries, and it set me back a little bit. I want to go out there and prove myself like I always have my whole career, being kind of under the radar. I feel like my production speaks for itself. I understand the concerns because two years was a long time, especially when you don’t know the situation thoroughly, but I’m completely healthy now and looking forward to the opportunity to prove myself again."
A healthy TJ Warren would be great for the Lakers
While the Lakers undoubtedly have a deep roster there is no such thing as too much depth, particularly at the wing. Even with the depth on the roster, though, Los Angeles does not really have a scoring wing that it can turn to off the bench outside of Rui Hachimura.
Warren would add that dynamic to the roster and if he is being truthful in his assessment of his health, he would be giving the Lakers another dangerous scorer who can take over games. Warren is not going to shift the future of the Lakers' season, but he is someone who can get hot on any given night nad play a big role in a big win.
At his best, Warren has the potential to be one of the best microwave scorers off the bench. He proved that with the Indiana Pacers and did so in the Orlando bubble. Defense may not be his strong suit but he definitely is not a hindrance on the defensive end like other forwards with similar profiles.
Warren played just four games in the 2020-21 season, missed the entire 2021-22 season and played 43 games last season. The veteran forward showed flashes for the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns last season but it was clear that his foot injury was still bothering him.
That version of Warren would not add much to the Lake Show. But if his foot is fully healed then there is a chance that he could be 75% of the player that he was with the Indiana Pacers. Even that would be a great role player, as Warren averaged 19.8 points while shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc in his last full season with the Pacers.
As far as fliers go, Warren has about as high of a ceiling as a team can ask for.