The Los Angeles Lakers have plenty of money to spend in free agency this offseason, but the pool of available players isn’t necessarily the deepest with their own players like Austin Reaves and LeBron James being amongst the top available options.
There are some very intriguing options in restricted free agency with the likes of Peyton Watson, Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler all looming as possibilities for the Lakers to pursue. However, it seems unlikely that the Lakers will be able to pry any of those top restricted free agents from their current teams, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
While there’s some talent at positions of need in restricted free agency, the options aren’t considered particularly logical according to league sources. The expectation around the league is that the Utah Jazz will match any offer sheet Walker Kessler receives, and executives hold a similar view regarding Detroit and Jalen Duren. Another restricted free agent center at least worth monitoring is Mark Williams in Phoenix (yeah, the guy the Lakers traded for before rescinding the deal). But it’s only logical to wonder why the Suns would give up assets to acquire Williams only to let him walk a season later. Wings Tari Eason and Peyton Watson both have injury and shooting concerns while also being held in high esteem by their current employers. Prying players loose in restricted free agency is one of the biggest gambles in the NBA, and generally speaking, it’s regarded as a poor Plan A for teams trying to make moves.
Because of the nature of restricted free agency, with teams able to match the contract offer the player receives from another team, it often takes an overpay in order to pry these players away. And with these teams likely wanting to keep these players going forward, any offer sheet is likely to be matched, especially since opposing teams can’t offer as much so teams often save money by letting players explore restricted free agency.
A young, athletic two-way wing like Watson or a big, defensive-minded center who can control the paint like Kessler would be ideal additions for the Lakers this summer. But as free agency nears, it is looking less likely that the Lakers can pull them away and thus, it would just be a waste of time for them to eat into their salary cap space for a couple days only for the offer sheet to be matched in the end.
Lakers widely expected to re-sign Austin Reaves
Arguably the most important player for the Lakers this summer is Austin Reaves, who is an unrestricted free agent. But they are widely expected to re-sign him this offseason.
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