Who should the Los Angeles Lakers target as NBA Free Agency 2022 begins to help them win another championship?
The Los Angeles Lakers are nearly $30 million over the salary cap and could not even muster a spot in the play-in tournament, let alone the Playoffs in 2021-22. NBA Free Agency 2022 will be crucial for the purple and gold but unfortunately for them, they cannot do much due to their payroll.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook played merely 21 games together and were a -1.6 during those games. Combined, the three stars have a yearly salary that is millions of dollars over the salary cap. With Russell Westbrook having player option in 2022, he’ll surely opt into it.
This leaves the Lakers with their $6.3 million taxpayer mid-level exception that is granted to teams that are above the Luxury Tax Line. Other than the MLE, LA will need to rely on the veteran minimums to help build their supporting cast around James and AD.
Sources: The NBA has informed teams of slightly higher projections for 2022-23 salary cap and luxury tax level — $122M cap and $149M tax. https://t.co/R7qTL2q1aW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 31, 2022
Also read: NBA Free Agency 2022: When does NBA Free Agency start?
Who can the Lakers re-sign/keep in NBA Free Agency 2022?
Perhaps the only person who opposing defenses felt as though should not be left open on the perimeter for the Lakers this past season was Malik Monk. His outside shooting, passable defense, and athleticism was reminiscent of what they missed from giving up KCP to the Wizards (a KCP who was worse on defense but better from within the arc).
Signing Monk using the MLE should be their first order of business. Of course, he would have to agree to this as his play from last season could snag him more than just $6.3 million a year.
The 3 guys on the Lakers who have a team option are Austin Reaves, Wenyen Gabriel, and Stanley Johnson. Both Reaves and Johnson played exceptionally well for the situation that they were in. Gabriel provides a spark on both ends of the floor off the bench as seen by his play both in the bubble for the Blazers and in extremely limited minutes last year.
The Lakers currently have 12 players in cap holds but renouncing them won’t free up any space for them anyway so perhaps re-signing guys like Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard to vet-minimums could help.
Free Agents for the Lakers to potentially target in NBA Free Agency 2022.
- Elfrid Payton: The Lakers desperately need a player who plays combo guard and can generate offense at a semi-consistent rate at the very least while pushing the pace.
- Goran Dragic: Similar to Payton, Dragic would be a liability on defense but would bring veteran leadership along with the ability to be a floor general at times Westbrook and James aren’t out on the floor
- Markieff Morris: A reunion with the Morris twin may not be so bad as 3&D wings is what the Lakers are lacking the most.
- Danuel House: Another 3&D who would be worth every penny that the Lakers gave him as he proved his defensive versatility on the Rockets many times over.
- Thomas Bryant: While he is coming off an ACL tear, the former Laker would be a great lob threat and rebounder for them in exchange for lackluster defense.
- Bismack Biyombo: Unlikely that he would leave Chris Paul and the Suns but AD’s reluctance to play center could lead to Biyombo serving as a dual lob-threat alongside him while also being a decent paint protector.
- Damian Jones: Having a rim-running big like Jones would fit well alongside Westbrook’s slashing tendencies.
Lakers could pursue these free agents with their tax MLE:
Mo Bamba
Gary Harris
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Damion Lee
Taurean Prince
Aaron Holiday(Via The Athletic) pic.twitter.com/2ww75bmDrF
— Sports Notes (@TheSportsNotes) June 14, 2022
These are just a few players who fit the archetype of player that the Los Angeles Lakers could go after given their salary situation.
