Lakers rumors: Cedi Osman update reveals flaw with frugal approach to free agency

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of an offseason that's been marked by inactivity. It started with a bang, as Los Angeles hired JJ Redick as head coach and kept both of its picks at the 2024 NBA Draft, but it's since been a relatively silent period of free agency.

Thankfully, the Lakers are making noise again by shoring up their G League and training camp rosters. Unfortunately, that opportunity isn't as appealing to veterans with immediate value.

Los Angeles has made several moves in recent days, including the addition of former Memphis Grizzlies guard Jordan Goodwin to the training camp roster. It's since attempted to add another NBA-caliber player to the group, but that vision failed to materialize.

According to Nikola Miloradovic of EuroHoops, the Lakers offered free agent forward Cedi Osman a training camp invitation, but he turned it down due to the lack of job security.

"According to Eurohoops sources, the Turkish international was in advanced talks with Real Madrid but he ultimately didn’t find an agreement with the Spanish powerhouse. He also received interest from the Los Angeles Lakers, which invited him for a training camp; however, due to the lack of guarantees about making it to the season roster, he decided to refuse and come back to Europe."

It's an understandable decision from a 29-year-old wing who's coming off the best shooting season of his NBA career thus far.

Cedi Osman declined invitation to Lakers training camp

Osman, 29, is coming off a season in which he shot a career-best 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. He buried 37.2 percent of his shots from distance in 2022-23, thus implying that his efficiency is sustainable.

Overall, Osman averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 three-point field goals made per game, and 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.4 triples made per 36 minutes.

A productive and efficient player on a per-36 basis, it's understandable for Osman to bet on himself. He's proven capable of regularly scoring in double figures when playing time is made available to him, and is in the athletic prime of his career.

As such, it makes sense that Osman would be looking for a guaranteed contract rather than a training camp invitation that may not result in a roster spot.

It's easy to say that Osman should've had enough confidence in his game to earn a roster spot during training camp. There's no guaranteeing that the Lakers were even open to that possibility, however, and Osman has instead landed on his feet.

Per the aforementioned report, Osman has signed a one-year deal with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos, which won the 2023-24 EuroLeague.

Adding Osman would've given Los Angeles a player with whom LeBron James is familiar. They were teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017-18 and could've thus played with an elevated level of confidence in their cohesive tendencies.

Instead, Los Angeles is back to the drawing board as it avoids taking on new salaries in free agency and instead goes all-in on the trade market once again.