There appears to be a great deal of momentum surrounding a potential quick start to the 2020-21 NBA season, with the league eyeing a proposal of a start just before the Christmas Day holiday. While the NBPA still has to agree to whatever the NBA’s Board of Governors proposes, they do have one concrete date that they can work around: the November 18 NBA Draft.
According to the latest reporting from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst, it’s expected that free agency will occur soon after the draft is done. Typically there is about a week between those two dates but with a compressed offseason, it could be even shorter. The Lakers have the No. 28 pick in the first round of the 2020 Draft, which they cannot trade until after they’ve made the selection on draft night. They currently do not have a second-round pick.
As for free agency, they have plenty of key players who are planning to opt-out and become free agents. While Anthony Davis is a lock to re-sign on a new deal, other free agents Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, and Dwight Howard may find interest, and perhaps more money, from other teams around the league.
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