Lakers rumors: Los Angeles considered bid for Eric Bledsoe
By Josh Sanchez
The Los Angeles Lakers continue to plan ahead for NBA free agency in 2015, which led the team to make an amnesty claim on veteran forward Carlos Boozer.
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As it turns out, the Lakers also considered a different move.
Rather than solely focusing on the future, there was some discussion in the Lakers front office about whether or not to make a move that would have helped the team starting immediately.
According to reports, the Lakers had their eyes on free agent guard Eric Bledsoe.
From the Boston Globe:
"Before the Lakers decided to make an amnesty claim for Carlos Boozer, occupying more than $16 million on their salary cap to ensure more space next summer, NBA sources said they considered making a bid for Phoenix restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe.Although the Lakers already acquired former Harvard standout Jeremy Lin and his $14 million salary for this upcoming season, it was only to create more space next summer. Bledsoe could have been the team’s point guard of the future."
Bledsoe was likely too expensive for the Lakers liking, so they decided to spend the money on a player that they will not to dedicate money to when they are ready to turn things around.
In the meantime, Los Angeles will have a number of bad contracts on the books in 2014, but they are hoping it will set them up to be major players next offseason.