The Los Angeles Lakers have been extremely busy in the early stages of free agency. In addition to retaining Jordan Clarkson, the Lakers have agreed to terms with a couple of veterans at positions of need in Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng.
Despite the big numbers it took to bring those players in, the Lakers still have plenty of money remaining under the salary cap and will eventually need to fill out the rest of their roster. One player the Lakers could be looking at to do so is Nick Minnerath.
Minnerath spent last season with the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League and according to David Pick of Bleacher Report, the Lakers have shown interest in him:
Source: D-League star Nick Minnerath receiving interest from Nets, Lakers, Wizards, Pelicans, Mavericks. Might land NBA deal.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) July 1, 2016
Minnerath is certainly not the name that comes to mind when fans think of players the Lakers could sign, but he certainly brings a couple of things the Lakers could use, namely his size, versatility, and shooting.
Listed at 6’9 and 215 pounds, Minnerath is capable of playing both forward positions. He also shot just over 40 percent from three-point range last year. The Lakers need to improve their three-point shooting after ranking dead last in the NBA last year. They were interested in Ryan Anderson, but he decided to sign with Houston. Minnerath could potentially bring some of those same qualities at a much cheaper price.
After missing out on the big names this off-season the Lakers have turned their focus towards getting solid veteran players who will help their young core develop. Someone like Minnerath doesn’t move the needle too much, but he could be worth a look, possibly in training camp.
In 49 games with the Canton Charge last year, Minnerath averaged 18.5 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 50.8 percent from the field.
