Lakers Eyeing Two Underrated Free Agents.
NBA free agency hasn’t been kind to the Los Angeles Lakers this summer as they missed out on signing multiple free agents, including Klay Thompson and Buddy Hield. After hiring JJ Redick as their head coach and losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was forced to do everything in his power to improve this roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Now, the Lakers are reportedly interested in two underrated players who could help them immediately the following season.
Pelinka hasn’t been able to accomplish that thus far, which has Lakers supporters wondering if this squad will be strong enough to compete in the challenging Western Conference the following season.
Los Angeles does, however, still have a few opportunities to improve their roster on the cheap, since a few useful but unsung free players are still available. Jovan Buha and Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed on Sunday that the Lakers are considering Gary Trent Jr. and Spencer Dinwiddie.
The Lakers are interested in those two guards, but there is a catch: they need to be able to obtain enough cap space in order to use their taxpayer midlevel exception.
This offseason, James not taking the maximum to free up space for players like Klay Thompson, Jonas Valaciunas, and James Harden has been a hot topic for the Lakers regarding the MLE.
But as things worked out for the Lakers, they witnessed Harden sign a two-year contract with the Clippers, Jonas Valaciunas sign a three-year deal with the Washington Wizards, and Klay Thompson go to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade.
However, as we learned on Sunday, James continued to take a $3 million pay cut (a two-year, $101.35 million agreement), which allowed Los Angeles to continue to be exempt from the second luxury tax.
However, the Lakers’ bench might be greatly benefited by Dinwiddie and Trent Jr. as the team’s rotation appears unreliable for the upcoming year. After being waived by the Toronto Raptors, Dinwiddie played with Los Angeles for the second part of the 2023–24 season.
In his brief time with Los Angeles, the 31-year-old point guard didn’t show much; in 24.2 minutes a game, he averaged 6.8 points and 2.4 assists. Due to his performance, LA may be able to lure Dinwiddie back on a vet minimum contract.
Regarding Trent Jr., his ability to make baskets beyond the arc would greatly enhance the Lakers’ offensive output. With Toronto last season, the 25-year-old scored 13.7 points per game on 42.6 percent field goal and 39.3 percent three-point shooting.
In addition, Trent has a career three-point shooting percentage of 38.6%. Trent Jr. might not be able to receive much more on the free market given that Malik Beasley signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Detroit Pistons, which could benefit the Lakers.
Having said that, it makes little difference how many free agents the Lakers are considering. The Lakers need to take action this offseason or risk missing out on another first-round matchup in the future.
