NBA Free Agency 2023: 3 most important targets for the Lakers

The Lakers unexpectedly made the Western Conference Finals last season but they’ll need to lock down these three free agents to make it farther next year.

The Los Angeles Lakers had a very interesting season — they were the No. 13 seed in the middle of the season and then ended up in the Western Conference Finals after the team made some upgrades at the trade deadline. The Lakers are looking to retain most of their players as they head into next season and build on last season’s success.

L.A. has a trade chip in Malik Beasley but the team does not have a lot of free agent options beyond re-signing their own free agents. The team has a pair of restricted free agents who could be the difference in whether this team is a title contender this season.

Most important targets for the Lakers: 3. Austin Reaves 

Austin Reaves is an essential free-agent target for the Lakers this offseason. Luckily, he is a restricted free agent which means that the Lakers could match any offer that a team offers for the player.

If the Lakers were to lose out on Reaves, this would be a huge embarrassment for the team. The young player is a plus starter who is still developing his upside. Toward the end of last season, he ended up looking like a player who could create his own shot well enough to be his own scoring threat.

Reaves still has a lot of time to develop as he has only played full two years in the league and is 25 years old. According to Marc Stein, the Lakers will match any offer up to $100 million for the player. If the Lakers follow through on this report, this would signal that Reaves ended up staying as a Lakers for the foreseeable future.