Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking the 5 best buyout candidates

4. LaMarcus Aldridge

UPDATE: LaMarcus Aldridge plans to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, so scratch him off the list.

Let’s not beat around the bush: LaMarcus Aldridge is not the player he once was. At age 35, there’s no Blake Griffin-style resurgence coming just by swapping teams. But Aldridge has already received his buyout from the San Antonio Spurs, and his combination of experience, size, 3-point shooting and proven scoring touch will at least get him a meeting with Los Angeles:

The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets appear to be the frontrunners for Aldridge’s services, and if he chooses South Beach or Brooklyn over LA, the Lakers will still be able to find other (probably better) options. But it’s still worth examining what he might bring to the table if he winds up choosing the purple and gold.

This season, Aldridge’s numbers have dropped to 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game. However, he’s still shot a tidy 46.4 percent from the field, including 36 percent from long range on 3.6 attempts a night. He’s a minus defensively, and can really only play the 5 on that end of the court, but the floor-spacing he’d provide might be enough to make up for it, especially since the Lakers’ No. 1 defense could cover up some of his deficiencies.