NBA free agency: Lakers express interest in Evan Turner
By David Rouben
The Los Angeles Lakers are spending lots of money to still be the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers were always going to be major players in free agency. Despite their current state of affairs, they’re a premier franchise and always have lots of money to spend. But the top free agents in the market want to go to a winning team, and the Lakers aren’t that. So when they strike out with the top options, they’re forced to overspend on lesser options.
That’s what happened when Hassan Whiteside pledged his allegiance to one of the Dallas Mavericks or Miami Heat, making them turn to Timofey Mozgov to fill their role at center. And if that wasn’t enough, it appears as though they are calling on Evan Turner to fill their spot at the two:
Lakers have also reached out to express their interest in Celtics UFA Evan Turner, per source. Turner has stated his interest in them, too.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 1, 2016
Evan Turner infamously got drafted over Boogie Cousins by the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2010. His career high scoring season saw him put up 17.4 points per game, but at this point, he struggles to crack double digit scoring.
The Lakers have a potential franchise talent in Brandon Ingram, but if they don’t surround him with the right guys, he’s going to be a bust. After Los Angeles was linked to some big name free agents like Kevin Durant and Hassan Whiteside, Lakers fans are going to be extremely pissed if they end up with Evan Turner and Timofey Mozgov instead.
Visit our NBA free agency page to stay up-to-date.