Lakers: 3 free agents Los Angeles needs to re-sign

The Los Angeles Lakers should make every effort to re-sign these three free agents who made a positive impression in 2020-21

The Lakers fell short of their goal to repeat as NBA Champions in 2021. Getting the offseason right will determine if they can rebound for 2022.

First things first, Los Angeles needs to decide which free agents they want to keep from their current roster.

It won’t be easy getting the money right in each case, but there is a trio of players who they should go out of their way to keep around.

3 free agents the Lakers need to re-sign for 2021-22

Alex Caruso

Alex Caruso’s stats don’t jump off the page. He averaged 6.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 21 minutes per game in 2020-21.

Make no mistake, there’s a reason he’s become a valued figure in his four years with the Lakers. The 26-year-old point guard from Texas A&M is one of the top defenders in Los Angeles. He was second in defensive box plus/minus behind only Marc Gasol.

He also improved his shooting this year, hitting 40.1 percent of his three-pointers and 43.6 percent of shots from the field.

Those improvements should convince LA to sign him up to a new contract.

He’d be game, already telling reporters he’d love to come back to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis once more.

The LA Times reported Caruso could get a three-year deal worth as much as $7 million per season. That’s substantially more than the $2.7 million the Lakers paid him this past season.