NBA Rumors: Lakers linked to 2 sleepers in free agency

The Lakers are reportedly interested in signing two specific veteran free agents who will most likely end up getting minimum contracts in Los Angeles.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers have two veteran targets going into free agency: Cam Reddish and Yuta Watanabe.

The Lakers have other free agent targets when it comes to higher-priced free agents but that is a different situation.

In that situation, the Lakers are looking to sign Brook Lopez or Bruce Brown with their mid-level exception. According to Dave Mcmenamin, the Lakers want to split their mid-level exemption among multiple players if they are unable to get Brown or Lopez. Brown is one of the hotter free agents over a couple of days.

Lopez doesn’t have a huge chance to end up in L.A. due to the fact that a lot of noise around his free agency has been about the Bucks and Rockets. Most likely, the Rockets will end up offering Lopez more money than the Bucks will. Still, Milwaukee has a way better chance to end up competing for a title next season which could be a deciding factor in where Lopez ends up.

What is the likelihood that the Lakers end up being able to sign Cam Reddish and Yuta Watanabe?

Cam Reddish has been a Lakers target for a while. After not getting extended a qualifying offer from the Trail Blazers, per Michael Scotto, Reddish will be an unrestricted free agent. He certainly has his flaws but his fit with the teams he has been with has not been great. The team he was drafted by, the Hawks, did not play him enough.

The team that he was traded to, the New York Knicks, did not play him at all after trading a protected first-round pick for the player. He was then shipped to the Trail Blazers in a package for Josh Hart. Reddish was solid for the Trail Blazers, while he wasn’t a superstar by any means.

Reddish could fit into any team rotation due to the fact that he is a solid wing. Watanabe was in a similar position. Unlike Reddish, he was not selected with a high draft pick. He found a home in Brooklyn and is now one of the hottest veteran minimum free agents this offseason.