1 Free Agent Sleeper The Los Angeles Lakers Should Target

Lakers, NBA Rumors
NBA Analysis Network

The Los Angeles Lakers showed last season that they have more holes in their roster than they do answers. One of the most glaring weaknesses, though, was their severe lack of 3-and-D wings. LA tried to load up on veteran, two-way forwards to surround LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, but they all fell short of expectations in one way or another. L.A. has plenty of needs heading into the NBA offseason.

Trevor Ariza failed in every single way. He couldn’t play defense. He couldn’t hit threes. He couldn’t even stay on the court. Kent Bazemore couldn’t do anything but hit threes at a league-average clip. Wayne Ellington routinely gave opposing guards and forwards a fast pass to the rim on defense.

The Lakers tried to go bargain bin hunting to fill one of the most valuable positions in the league, and they got exactly what they paid for. Now, they’ll have to enter free agency with nearly zero financial flexibility to try to improve on what they did last offseason.

One asset they will have to work with is their midlevel exception or MLE. Last summer, they fumbled that outlet by signing Kendrick Nunn who was sidelined for the entirety of the season. But even if Nunn were healthy, a point guard who’s below average at both 3-point shooting and defense wouldn’t have made much of a difference for them.

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Instead, they need to ensure that they acquire a reliable two-way wing who can space the floor for LeBron, AD, and Russ and play apt defense on the perimeter; someone like Gary Harris. After essentially losing his roster spot with the Denver Nuggets, Harris revived his career and reputation with the Orlando Magic last season.

He experienced his best deep shooting marks since 2017-2018, hitting over 38 percent of his looks from beyond the arc last year. He also proved that his legs still have plenty of springs left in them at 27 years old, getting the chance to show off some ball-handling and slashing with Orlando. He saw his role steadily shrink over time as Denver piled on more depth and talent to their roster, but this past season was the perfect opportunity for Harris to prove that he can still be a high-level contributor on a team looking to compete in the postseason. He took full advantage of it and should be in for a decent payday this summer as an unrestricted free agent.

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While he won’t make anything close to the $20 million yearly average that he earned on his last deal, his services as a 3-and-D wing should make him a hot commodity for contenders looking to improve their depth, defense, and floor spacing. The Lakers will likely have to convince him to take a paycut in order to play next to the King and theoretically maximize his chances at a title.

Harris is a bona fide stopper on the perimeter, will feast on feeds for open triples from LeBron, Russ, and AD, and can even supply a little secondary playmaking. He’s the exact type of player that the Lakers should be targeting with their MLE and would actually be the perfect addition for their roster this summer. If he can be had for their exception — slated to be worth just over $6 million per year — than he’d be an absolute homerun signing.

No matter what direction the Lakers choose to go, you can rest assured that they will be involved in a ton of NBA rumors throughout the course of the offseason.

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