This year’s NBA free agency class doesn’t have a bunch of All-Star caliber players, but there are a number of very good role players who could help change the fortunes of many teams around the league. For the Los Angeles Lakers, who are looking to take another step closer towards their 18th NBA Championship, one very intriguing possibility is Bruce Brown.
Brown spent last season with the Denver Nuggets, becoming one of the team’s most important pieces on their way to the NBA title. But Brown would decline his option for next season in order to hit unrestricted free agency and the Lakers are apparently eyeing him.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers are growing more confident that they could sign Brown using the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which they could get to by waiving both Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba:
The Lakers are increasingly confident they can sign Nuggets free-agent wing Bruce Brown Jr. for the non-taxpayer midlevel exception starting at a projected $12.4 million, multiple league sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told The Athletic.
There are multiple paths for the Lakers to open up cap flexibility under the luxury tax line (a projected $165 million), but the most realistic is to decline Malik Beasley’s $16.5 million team option and waive Mo Bamba’s $10.3 million non-guaranteed contract. The deadline for Los Angeles’ decisions on Beasley and Bamba’s contracts is Thursday.
It has been unclear whether the Lakers would waive either Beasley or Bamba as the team could either bring them back and hope to get more out of them next season, or use their contracts in a potential trade. But if the front office feels they can add the players they need in free agency, then perhaps it would make sense to simply let them go.
But Brown is exactly the type of player the Lakers and head coach Darvin Ham like. A veteran who plays hard, defends multiple possessions and can thrive without the ball in his hands on offense. He has proven he can be on the court on the biggest stages the league has to offer. It also helps that the Lakers’ offer would greatly exceed what Denver can give to them as the highest they could go is nearly $5 million less.
All eyes will undoubtedly be on the Lakers and what they choose to do with Beasley and Bamba. Waiving both will surely bring about a lot of speculation about the team’s plans in free agency with Brown at or near the top of the list.
Rob Pelinka says Lakers will target players who fit Darvin Ham’s style
Lakers new head coach Darvin Ham was a former player who stuck in the league due to his toughness, grit and work on the defensive side of the ball. As such it makes perfect sense that he loves players who have that same mindset of working hard and playing the game the right way. And those are exactly the kinds of players the Lakers are looking for in free agency.
“We’re going to try our best to match players with players that Coach wants to coach and that work in his system,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “I think that’s guys that play tough-minded basketball, that play defense and play the game the right way. That’s guys that hopefully hold themselves accountable, fit within a team structure, don’t put themselves first and put other guys first. That’s got to be our identity, and it will be our identity.
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