4 players the Lakers can sign not named Draymond Green or Austin Reaves

The top of the Lakers free-agent priority list is fairly well established. But the players further down that list could be the difference in chasing a title.

At this point, everyone knows that priority 1A and 1B for the Lakers this offseason is getting Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura re-signed, whether that’s just inking them to a new deal or (more likely) matching the offer sheets each restricted free agent picks up elsewhere (allowing each to get a much higher yearly salary than the Lakers could offer).

The exact mechanisms of those re-signings are still to be worked out, but they seem like foregone conclusions. That leaves the Lakers with several other big decisions and holes to fill. D’Angelo Russell is a free agent and the Lakers will need to re-sign him or find some other, more palatable, point guard solution. They also have a team option on Malik Beasley, who faded out of the postseason rotation, and Mo Bamba’s salary for next season, which is non-guaranteed and could be waived to clear space before the end of this week. They’ve been linked with free agents like Draymond Green but he seems to be headed back to the Warriors and L.A. may be priced out of the top-tier of free agents, players like Khris Middleton and James Harden.

Assuming the Lakers decline Beasley’s option and waive Bamba, re-sign Hachimura and Reaves in the ballpark of $40 million per season combined and let Russell walk they will have both the bi-annual exception and full non-taxpayer MLE to try and add frontcourt depth and a viable starting point guard with fewer defensive issues than Russell. There are a few different bargains out there waiting to be found who could be exactly what they need.

Sleeper free-agent targets for the Lakers: 4. Dwight Powell

Powell is coming off a three-year, $33 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks but his age (31) and slowly decreasing role with the Mavs the last two seasons could make him a candidate for the bi-annual exception, willing to take a chance to chase a ring with the Lakers on a deal in the two-year, $8-million range.

Powell is not a great rim protector but he’s a solid team defender who competes hard on the glass. He’s fairly limited at the offensive end but he’s a great finisher around the basket and was a favorite pick-and-roll partner for Luka Doncic. He can also play both the 4 or the 5 depending on the arrangement around him, making him a solid third big who can play with Davis in some arrangements and back him up in others, lightening the load.

We’re talking about a player with a lot less potential than Mo Bamba, but he could be a lot more impactful this year and he’s played in 156 of a possible 162 games the past two seasons. He’d be a reliable two-way presence and a lot cheaper than Bamba, allowing the Lakers to use that money elsewhere.