The Lakers shook up the NBA with a blockbuster deal getting Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.
Their work isn’t done, though.
In that trade, the Lakers traded three players and a handful of draft picks — including this year’s first-round pick — which in turn decimates their roster.
Now they’ll turn their attention to adding either another star or a handful of role players in free agency (or on the trade market, maybe) to fully build a contender around Davis and LeBron James.
Here’s a look at some of their options ...
Lakers get Anthony Davis: Winners, losers from blockbuster Pelicans trade include LeBron James, Kemba Walker, more
The Los Angeles Lakers finally traded for Anthony Davis. Winners and losers from the deal include LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving and more.
PG Kyrie Irving: While an Irving-James reunion would be fun, it seems more likely Irving winds up with one of the New York teams.
PG Kemba Walker: By all accounts, Walker will be the Lakers’ top target in free agency. It makes sense. He’s coming off an All-NBA season, is a clutch shooter and scorer and can play off-the-ball when James is running point. The question ultimately becomes whether he’d rather contend for a title or get paid the super-max with Charlotte.
F Jimmy Butler: ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski seemed to indicate on Saturday night that if the Lakers can’t reel in Walker, they might turn their attention to Butler. He’d be giving up a lot of money by leaving the Sixers, though if he wants to move to Los Angeles to play with James and Davis, that might not matter much to Butler.
C Demarcus Cousins: ‘Boogie’ already has a relationship with Davis from the brief time they spent together in New Orleans. That experiment didn’t work out perfectly, but it could turn out that the Lakers can’t get anyone better than Cousins in free agency.
F Tobias Harris: Like Butler, if the Sixers offer him the full max he’d be leaving a lot of money on the table. There hasn’t been much tying Harris to the Lakers, though he did just spend the last couple of years living in Los Angeles and he’d have a lot of open looks playing with Davis and James.
G JJ Redick: It’s more likely Redick re-signs with the Sixers or signs with the Nets than moves back out to Los Angeles to play with the Lakers, though Los Angeles would have the ability to overpay him at a level the Sixers might not be willing to go if they strike out with other players.
F Harrison Barnes: This would require Barnes opting out of his $25 million player option with the Kings, but if he knew the Lakers were interested in signing him to a contract around that salary, it would make sense for him to pursue it. He’s not as exciting as some of the other players on this list, but he’s young and an extremely talented scorer.
G Malcolm Brogdon (restricted): The Lakers desperately need help at guard, as there are none on their current roster. If they strike out with other options and Brogdon is still available, the Lakers could offer Brogdon enough money to make it so the Bucks are less motivated to match it.
PG Chris Paul (trade): The Lakers should have around $30 million in cap space. If the Rockets are trying to dump the Paul contract off on someone, Los Angeles could potentially be a fit. Though, it seems unlikely that Houston would make this level of trade with the Lakers unless Kyle Kuzma was involved.
https://www.nj.com/sports/2019/06/nba-rumors-lakers-got-anthony-davis-but-whats-next-9-possible-targets-in-free-agency-or-trade-including-jimmy-butler-kemba-walker.html
2019-06-16 10:15:00Z
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