NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason targets for the Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have Lonzo Ball and a world of possibilities. Which players should they be focused on adding in NBA free agency?
The deal between the Nets and Lakers was productive in shaping Los Angeles’ roster in two ways. First, it sent D’Angelo Russell out of town, a move that cleared the way for Lonzo Ball to learn on the job in his rookie season. Second, it cleared about $20 million from the Lakers’ books next summer, which would make it possible for them to sign two max players to add to their young core. Unfortunately, it gave them very little flexibility to add talent this summer.
This is a list of the Lakers’ best fits in free agency summer. Because the team is dreaming of adding two superstars such as Paul George and LeBron James after next season, my assumption is that they aren’t adding any 2018-19 salary. That means one-year deals and partially-guaranteed deals, which limits the kinds of players Los Angeles could add. When they added Brook Lopez week, it also restricted their potential cap space this summer to under $10 million. They don’t have a lot to play with.
5. Donatas Motiejunas, New Orleans Pelicans
If I’m the Lakers, I’m looking at either veterans looking for a jumping-off point or young players with something to prove. Motiejunas began last season in a contract dispute with the Rockets after fighting against the Rockets’ ability to match his offer sheet from the Nets. Houston merely utilized its right to do so with Motiejunas restricted free agent bird rights, but Motiejunas was not interested in playing for the Rockets. The situation ended when Motiejunas refused to show up for a physical and lost out on a reported $35 million over four years. Oh, and he might be suing the Rockets.
The Lithuanian big man could be this summer’s Dion Waiters, who carried a ton of baggage into his first opportunity for unrestricted free agency. For Waiters, it was questions about attitude and discipline. Motiejunas will instead face concerns about his health (a back injury dating back to the 2016 Playoffs) and his dedication after the wild financial dispute with Houston. The Waiters situation ended with the guard taking a one-year, $8 million deal with the Heat in a prove-it situation. Los Angeles has the room to offer Motiejunas a very similar deal for one season.
The big man has all the tools that coach Luke Walton might want out of his big men. He can facilitate from the elbow, draw defenders toward the post, shoot from outside, and is comfortable playing the pick-and-roll. The Lakers are surely looking at this as a rebuilding season, but they have too much raw talent in the frontcourt to feel great about their rotation. It’s unclear how much they really want to play Lopez, and Zubac hasn’t played huge minutes yet in his career. Motiejunas could be the team’s fourth big.
Motiejunas and his agent B.J. Armstrong have said throughout the process that they have multiple offers from European teams. That might have been an effort to gain leverage, but I’m inclined to believe that teams in other leagues would want Motiejunas, whose style fits the European game extremely well. Motiejunas’ main priority is playing time, and going overseas would be his best chance to get on the court consistently. However, a system like the Lakers’ might draw him in just enough to give the NBA one more chance and cash in another big paycheck.