The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t as good as advertised last season. Despite boasting the impressive Big 3 of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook,their rivals actually outscored them by 9 points per 100 possessions in the few games they shared the floor.
Injuries, poor coaching, off-court controversies, and constant trade rumors doomed the Lakers’ season. James’ MVP-caliber numbers went to waste as they couldn’t even reach the play-in tournament.
The Lakers fired Frank Vogel,and Anthony Davis is expected to be back to full strength. Nonetheless, their limited salary cap makes a roster overhaul unlikely and tough. With that in mind, let’s take a look at three players they could realistically target in free agency.
NBA Rumors: 3 Realistic Free Agency Targets For The Los Angeles Lakers
3. Victor Oladipo
Victor Oladipo won’t return to the Miami Heat. He was quite solid in limited game action, but he’s coming off multiple major injuries, so his free agency value is as low as it’ll ever be. He would be wise to take a short-term, prove-it kind of deal to drive his value up.
Oladipo was one of the best two-way players in the league when he played for the Pacers. He could look to prove his worth as their Sixth Man and could join the big list of former All-Stars who teamed up with LeBron to thrive in the playoffs.
2. Donte DiVincenzo
Donte DiVincenzo is the jack of all trades. He can play on and off the ball, start or come off the bench, pull up, catch and shoot, or drive to the rim. He’s athletic, intelligent, and a better on-ball defender than people give him credit for.
But coming off a big injury, he may not get the deal he could’ve gotten. He needs to prove his value again. Even with Austin Reeves and Talen Horton-Tucker, he could play big minutes and be an offensive upgrade, not to mention Darvin Ham coached him in Milwaukee.
1. Thomas Bryant
Thomas Bryant was playing the best basketball of his career before suffering a knee injury. He was dominating both sides of the glass and even expanded his offensive game to become a legit three-point shooter.
Daniel Gafford and Kristaps Porzingis will play most of the minutes at the five in Washington, so he might as well look to take his talents elsewhere. While not an elite rim protector, he’d give them the physical presence down low they lacked throughout the whole season.