The NBA is now over 48 hours into its official free agency period, and the Los Angeles Lakers are still almost in exactly the same place they were in before it began.
Thus far, their only move has been to get young guard Max Christie to agree to a four-year, $32 million contract. They went after future Hall of Fame sharpshooter Klay Thompson, only to see him agree to join the Dallas Mavericks.
One may think this offseason can already be declared a bust for the Lakers. But there is still the possibility of a significant trade, and beat writer Jovan Buha said there are three teams they’re talking to in the hopes of swinging a roster-enhancing deal — the Portland Trail Blazers, Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz.
Via The Athletic:
“It’s too early to write the Lakers off, of course,” wrote Buha. “There’s always a chance they pull a rabbit out of a hat with a trade or signing. They have 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, according to league sources. It’s certainly possible he has a contingency plan that saves the offseason.”
The Lakers are reportedly interested in the Blazers’ Jerami Grant, an athletic two-way forward who averaged 21.0 points a game this past season. Just about any potential trade would likely have to include starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, who opted into the final year of his contract that will pay him $18.7 million.
Hanging over the Lakers organization is the free agency of LeBron James. He has reportedly been willing to take a pay cut for the right free agent, and there is one intriguing free agent still available — DeMar DeRozan.
Los Angeles appears to have just a few days left to upgrade its roster and to reach an agreement with James on a new contract.
“James wants to have his contract situation resolved by the start of the Team USA Olympics practice on Saturday in Las Vegas. That’s an unofficial deadline for Los Angeles, at least on the free-agency front.”
As far as DeRozan is concerned, the Lakers have reportedly had some communication with the forward’s agent.