The LA Lakers are coming into the season with a new head coach and a healthy Kobe Bryant and while the team considered an Eric Bledsoe trade proposal and a deal for Greg Monroe, they are more likely to target free agent names like Jordan Crawford, Chris Singleton or Chris Douglas-Roberts, as those are low risk and affordable names still on the market and this comes as the team may trade Steve Nash at some point this year.
The Lakers signed Byron Scott to a contract to replace Mike D'Antoni and that should be a much better option for the team after what happened last season. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers and other teams have considered making sign and trade deals with the Suns and now reports have Phoenix also looking at trade deals for Bledsoe. Right now Bledsoe and the team are at odds over his contract and there is a chance he could sign the qualifying offer rather than a long term deal at this point.
The Lakers have made a number of free agent moves and while adding someone like Bledsoe would be a major deal, the team may wait until next summer when they have more money to sign a player like that. Greg Monroe is also dealing with some back and forth with the Detroit Pistons and he could be another option in the future for the Lakers. The team has Julius Randle but there is a chance that Monroe could be a free agent again next summer if he signs the qualifying offer with the Pistons.
The Lakers have made a number of free agent moves this offseason while keeping their own players, including Ryan Kelly and Nick Young. Last season Young led the team in scoring and he is back on a four year deal, while Kelly is back on a two year option and that gives the Lakers some solid options to use with Kobe Bryant in the starting lineup. The team also signed back Xavier Henry and Wesley Johnson while also keeping Jordan Hill and while the Lakers may not win the west, they should be better than last season.
The team won just 27 games and some other additions to this team include Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin. The team added Lin in a trade with the Houston Rockets, while Boozer was acquired after he was hit with the amnesty clause by the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers had considered making an offer to Eric Bledsoe, but that would have frozen the team and their salary cap at the time and they felt adding Boozer was a smarter move since the Suns likely were going to match any deal.
The team lost Pau Gasol from the frontcourt to the Chicago Bulls and now they have the chance to get some of that production back from Boozer. While Boozer was not great last season based on his salary and minutes, he was still very productive at 13 points and nine rebounds per game and if he can do that and perhaps a bit better at times, it will be a worth deal for the Lakers.
