Lakers rumors: 3 buyout players LeBron needs to convince to sign in L.A.

1. Derrick Rose

Rose has been completely out of the Knicks’ rotation since the end of December, clearing minutes for their younger guards to play a larger role. He has reportedly handled the change well, continuing to provide veteran leadership as both he and the Knicks seek another home for him. If they aren’t able to find a trade for him they’ll almost certainly buy him out and let him try to find a contender to help.

Rose has struggled shooting the ball this year — 39.4 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from beyond the arc. But, like Wall, he’s been playing in a situation where he was maybe asked to do too much with the ball in his hands. He made over 40 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s the past two seasons and it’s been a long time since he had the benefit of playing with and off of other offensive threats like LeBron and Davis.

The role he would have to play would be similar to Wall, a complementary creator off the bench with his minutes mostly tied to the Lakers’ stars. But he might try to do less in that role than Westbrook has and in a way that’s more beneficial for the Lakers overall.

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