The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly looking for a third NBA star to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis although the team is hard-pressed to find the right one given the fact they only have about $23.7 million left in team salary budget. Several names have cropped up as of late, including Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, and D’Angelo Russell. These are some of the top players most teams will be after and the Lakers may find themselves empty-handed with all potentially being handed max contract deals.
Irving would have made a lot of sense, especially with him and James in speaking terms once more. However, the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks remain in the picture, and both can undoubtedly offer bigger pay compared to what Los Angeles can offer. The same scenario practically applies to Kawhi Leonard who, even if he opts out of his contract, is likely to be given a lucrative deal by the Toronto Raptors.
Russell, as mentioned in a previous post, is open to rejoining the same team that drafted him second overall during the 2015 NBA Draft. However, he also made it clear that he would only consider re-signing with the Lakers if the price is right. Much of this was covered in a previous post.
According to Sports Illustrated, the Lakers are valiantly trying to shed off some more personnel to add more funds to their limited team salary budget. They are reportedly dangling players like Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones to other teams but no ballclub has shown interest. As things look now, the Lakers may have to expand their search for another superstar or additional players with the limited money they can spend right now.
Two names that could join the Lakers are J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony. Smith is expected to be waived after June 30 with the Cleveland Cavaliers trying to avoid paying him $15.68 million. Once that lapses, the veteran swingman will only be owed $3.87 million – far more manageable. And assuming that all this goes as forecasted, Smith could end up rejoining James with the Lakers.
Carmelo Anthony, someone idle for several months, could finally make his NBA return as well. Most believe that the scoring forward will end up in Hollywood, seeing how he holds close ties with James as well. The only question right now is how much the Lakers would offer the third overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft.
Other than Anthony and Smith, the Lakers will have busy summer ahead figuring out who they can get on a budget. They do have eight open slots to fill – meaning it will be a long summer for the purple and gold.
