More than 36 hours after the start of free agency, the Los Angeles Lakers have yet to make a significant move to improve their roster.
That’s somewhat surprising given that heading into free agency on Sunday, it seemed like several factors were aligning in Los Angeles’ favor.
D’Angelo Russell opted out of his $18.7 million contract, giving the Lakers a mid-sized expiring contract to use as salary matchup in a trade. LeBron James offered to take a pay cut for a non-taxpaying mid-level, difference-making signing, including players like Klay Thompson and Jonas Valančiūnas. And the context heading into free agency was that rival teams made notable trades earlier in the week, indicating the trade market could be more active than expected despite the punitive new restrictions of the collective bargaining agreement.
Thompson, who was at the top of James and the Lakers’ wish list for realistic targets for the non-taxpayer mid-level exception or as part of a trade, has narrowed his list of suitors to the Dallas Mavericks and Lakers, according to league sources. On Monday afternoon, Thompson chose the Mavericks, agreeing to a three-year, $50 million contract in a three-team trade between the Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets. Thompson spurned his hometown Lakers despite his longstanding ties to the franchise, including growing up a Lakers and Kobe Bryant fan and having his father, Mychal, play for the Showtime Lakers from 1987-91. Mychal Thompson won two championships with the Lakers and is currently the team’s radio commentator.
The second half of the Splash Brothers team would have given the Lakers the kind of “laser” (one of LeBron’s terms) they needed in the LeBron James-Anthony Davis era. Despite his struggles as a scorer and defender after missing two seasons with ACL and Achilles injuries, the former Warrior remains one of the league’s best shooters. Considering head coach JJ Redick’s expertise as a shooter and his desire to increase L.A.’s volume of three-pointers, Thompson would have been an ideal fit on offense.
On defense, there certainly would have been questions. Thompson is a far cry from his former self, having been named to the All-Defensive Second Team in 2018-19 (and could have made either team several other years). The 34-year-old has become more of an offensive player than a guard and is no longer capable of slowing down the game’s best scorers. The Lakers likely would have started him at power forward, further complicating their already fragile and limited defense.
But with Thompson ending up in Dallas, the Lakers have officially given up on the three candidates James was willing to take a pay cut for: Thompson, Valanciunas and James Harden (which always seemed like a bit of a stretch and was proven true when he signed a contract with the LA Clippers for nearly triple the non-taxpayer mid-level exception). It’s a tough call for a franchise that prides itself on being the league’s premier destination and most star-friendly organization.
After missing out on Thompson, the Lakers quickly turned their attention to another James target: free agent wing DeMar DeRozan. Like Thompson, the 34-year-old DeRozan is both a potential non-taxpayer mid-level exception candidate and a sign-and-trade candidate for Los Angeles, league sources said. He’s another player James would be willing to accept less for, league sources confirmed and ESPN first reported.
DeRozan is a 15-year veteran and six-time All-Star who is likely to leave his current team, the Chicago Bulls. He has deep ties to Southern California as a Los Angeles native and USC alumnus, and has spoken fondly of the potential to play for the Lakers in recent years. The Lakers pursued him in the summer of 2021 before deciding to trade for Russell Westbrook instead.
Would be @DeMar_DeRozan Have you ever thought about playing for the #Lakers?
“You can never say no to a home game… Time will tell, we will see how the cards fall.” pic.twitter.com/IXnamokK64
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 15, 2024
DeRozan is an elite mid-range scorer, a decisive shooter, and a good passer who would improve the Lakers’ roster and represent good value, especially if he were to make less than $20 million or so. At the same time, DeRozan is a mediocre 3-point shooter and defender, two skills the Lakers desperately need around James and Davis. He hasn’t attempted more than three 3-pointers per game since the 2017-18 season. He’s never shot above league average from three-point range, and he’s shot over 30 percent just six times in 15 seasons.
It’s not a perfect comparison, as they are different players and positions, but there is some overlap in how DeRozan’s shooting and defensive limitations could hurt the Lakers the way Westbrook did. Playing both a high-usage player and a player who doesn’t play on the floor is rarely a winning combination, especially when James and Davis are clearly better offensive options.
Like Thompson, DeRozan is more of a forward than a point guard at this point in his career. But he’s even worse defensively, which theoretically creates more problems for the Lakers on that end of the floor. Los Angeles needs more two-way players on its roster, and DeRozan simply isn’t one of them.
DeRozan would be the ideal replacement, though it’s unclear whether he’d accept such a role and whether the Lakers would want him, given the potential hurdles they’ll have to clear to acquire him. At the very least, DeRozan would have to adjust to playing off the ball more than he ever has in his career, including shooting more three-pointers and finding ways to be more effective as a screener and cutter.
Much like the Thompson negotiations, one of the current hurdles in a potential DeRozan deal is the amount the Bulls would receive from the Lakers, league sources say. Aside from DeRozan, it’s unclear which players would meet the threshold that would prompt James to take a significant pay cut. And if the Lakers fail to add a notable player to their roster, James would have to sign for the max, starting at $49 million for 2024-25.
At this point, the Lakers could only make a move by making a trade. (They could also technically shed one or more players’ salary and then sign a player to a contract, depending on the outgoing salary amount.) Re-signing James for the max seemed like the most likely outcome Tuesday morning.
The Lakers entered free agency Sunday with 13 players under contract after selecting Dalton Knecht with the 17th pick and Bronny James with the 55th pick. Just before free agency began, they re-signed Max Christie to a four-year, $32 million contract, a gamble on the 21-year-old 3-and-D forward’s potential. With James planning to re-sign, the Lakers’ roster is full, limiting their flexibility to upgrade the group without a trade.
To sign a player under the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or even a minimum contract, the Lakers would have to execute a consolidation trade that creates a roster spot. Los Angeles could also acquire a player in a trade via two different scenarios: 1) a normal trade directly to the player’s team or 2) creating a trade exception via a separate trade and then adding the player via the exception.
The Lakers are in this difficult position, in part, because last summer’s three minimum signings — Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish — backfired. They offered all three players options for this season to entice them to sign. But all three players opted into that option, making it clear they don’t have a deal. One of the big guys will likely be the backup center behind Davis, at least based on the current roster. But at least two of those players will sit and collect dust next season. (Under the new rules, the Lakers can’t include multiple minimum contracts in the same trade.)
It’s too early, of course, to say the Lakers are ultimately in trouble. There’s always a chance they pull a rabbit out of a hat with a trade or signing. They’ve been active in recent days, discussing potential deals with Portland, Brooklyn and Utah, among other teams, according to league and team sources. Vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka tends to operate in the shadows — more so this summer than ever, league sources say. It’s certainly possible he has a contingency plan that saves the offseason.
But the Lakers are running out of time. Free agents are flying. Teams are making moves that will tie up their salary cap and make trades more difficult. James wants his contract situation resolved by the time Team USA begins training for the Olympics Saturday in Las Vegas. That’s an unofficial deadline for Los Angeles, at least as far as free agents are concerned.
We’re reaching a point where the Lakers need to do something – and sooner rather than later.
(Photo by DeMar DeRozan: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)