The Lakers’ greatest error in NBA free agency for 2024
With the formal start of free agency just over two weeks ago, practically every NBA franchise has returned with a brand-new item for their supporters to rejoice over.
That’s right, the Lakers re-signed a few players, drafted Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, and did pretty much nothing else, while the Warriors and Clippers bid farewell to former Big 3 members in the name of depth plays, the Nuggets added a new wrinkle with Dario Saric, and the OKC Thunder used cap space and Josh Giddey to acquire Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Granted, a portion of this can be attributed to the CBA’s recent modifications, as the Lakers are unable to utilize their taxpayer mid-level exception at this time. Consequently, they are unable to outbid any other team for a notable free agent, losing out on valuable players who could have had an instant impact, such as Caleb Martin, Haywood Highsmith, and Jonas Valanciunas.
Granted, might this alter now? The Lakers will have to go vet minimum hunting for their next contributor unless Rob Pelinca can work out a deal that sends out a big contract and brings back a good player at a lower cost, freeing up the team’s $5.2 million exception. Granted, Pelinca is reportedly doing his best to create a pathway to use the taxpayer MLE in the hopes of adding another roleplayer to the rotation.
Unthinkable? No, there have been many excellent players on vet minimum deals in the past, such as Kelly Oubre in Philadelphia, Kris Dunn in Utah, and Christian Wood here in Los Angeles. However, almost every year, a team signs one or more players on a vet minimum deal, and very seldom does it truly result in amazing outcomes, much less raise a team’s ceiling during a crucial season.
The Lakers are fortunately not at the bottom of the NBA standings, having avoided losing a valuable reserve in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and without giving away all of their assets in a transaction that has subsequently backfired. After two weeks of free agency, a surprising amount of talented players are still available, so who knows? Maybe they’ll manage to add a starter in the end, or at least a top-eight rotation, if no “better” choices are available for a guy like Toronto.
Future Raptors winger Gary Trent Jr. But unless someone is fired, Lakers supporters will keep criticizing the offseason on social media and holding out hope that something, anything, will happen to restore one of the NBA’s most illustrious teams to its former glory, just a few years after it was victorious in Walt Disney World.
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