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

Sleeper free-agent targets for the Lakers: 1. Bruce Brown

This one may be a pipe dream as Brown as said he wants to return to the Nuggets, even though he made the situation much more complicated by opting out and becoming a free agent. The Nuggets are limited in the yearly salary they can offer him though, and a team like the Lakers could come in with the full MLE, offering him a big raise, a bigger role and a chance to keep winning championships.

On paper, Brown is an ideal fit in the Lakers’ backcourt. He’s a strong and versatile defender and his ability to play on- or off-the-ball as a point guard could help unlock all sorts of lineup possibilities for the Lakers. On offense, he’s a smart cutter who knows how to use space and find seams around an exceptional frontcourt passer — there’s every reason to think he could develop chemistry with LeBron similar to the one he had with Jokic. And although he started his career as a shaky outside shooter, he’s hit 37.1 percent on 348 total attempts over the past two seasons.

A lot of playoff contenders could be be bidding for Brown’s services but if he decides he’s willing to leave Denver to lock down a larger deal, the Lakers may be in position to make the most compelling offer in terms of role and championship chances.

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