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The LA Lakers have a lot of work to do in the 2021 NBA offseason, with eight free agents on their roster, including starting point guard Dennis Schroder. The franchise's vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka certainly has some big decisions to make.
After the LA Lakers were booted out of the 2021 NBA Playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, many wondered whether Pelinka and the organization were going to overhaul the roster to turn the team into title contenders again next season.
LA Lakers free agents
To avoid a repeat of this season’s disastrous playoff exit, the LA Lakers will need a careful reconstruction of their roster.
Aside from Schroder, the other LA Lakers free agents are Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, Ben McLemore, Wesley Matthews, Markieff Morris, Jared Dudley and Andre Drummond. They could have a ninth free agent if Montrezl Harrell opts out of his player option for $9.7 million next season.
Assuming Harrell doesn’t opt out, the LA Lakers will have to make tough decisions on the aforementioned free agents. One option for Pelinka is to re-sign some of their players, given that they don’t have much cap room, and then package them in sign-and-trades.
Who should they re-sign and who should they retain? Let’s take a look at 5 players that the LA Lakers should re-sign:
#5 Wesley Matthews
Wesley Matthews had career lows across the board, with a 4.8-point scoring average on 35.3 percent shooting from the field and 33.5 percent from three-point range during the regular season.
For a 3-and-D wing player about to become an unrestricted free agent, that’s not a good sign that you’ll get the big bucks in the offseason.
However, Matthews may have salvaged his LA Lakers career with a strong playoff showing. With injuries ravaging the roster and the defense tightening up in the postseason, Matthews made timely three-pointers and key defensive stops against the Phoenix Suns.
Though his overall playoff numbers still don’t look good, only a few LA Lakers players had positive showings in six games against the Suns. For the right price, Matthews deserves to stay in Tinseltown.
#4 Markieff Morris
An unrestricted free agent, Markieff Morris played a crucial role in the LA Lakers’ run to the 2020 NBA title as a floor-spacing big man. He’s a no-nonsense player who can be counted on to provide instant offense off the bench while playing power forward or center in small-ball lineups.
Morris had an up-and-down season, averaging 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He had several DNP-CDs to his name during the regular season as coach Frank Vogel struggled to find the right combination of players that fit when the LA Lakers acquired Andre Drummond.
The 32-year-old is a good complementary piece, but if another team values him more, the LA Lakers could do a sign-and-trade for a more consistent three-point shooting threat.
#3 Talen Horton-Tucker
A restricted free agent on a rookie contract, the LA Lakers' Talen Horton-Tucker has grown by leaps and bounds this past season and is due to get a huge raise in the offseason.
He could explore getting a generous deal from other teams in free agency to see what his market value is and then get the LA Lakers to match the offer in order to keep his services.
There’s a chance they could lose him to another team if a rival GM decides that his value has truly skyrocketed because of his potential. If that happens and he gets a max offer (as per this report), the LA Lakers may have to rethink their options.
Having said that, he is likely to get a more reasonable offer that the Lakers can easily match.
#2 Alex Caruso
One player that the LA Lakers have to retain at all costs is Alex Caruso. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the $5.5 million deal that he signed in 2019 expires this summer. Expect him to get paid handsomely in the offseason, hopefully by the Lakers, who own his Bird rights.
Caruso’s defense on the perimeter is one of the main reasons why the LA Lakers had the top defensive rating in the regular season. He gets in the passing lanes, plays tough defense against the best backcourts in the league and provides a spark off the bench.
He averaged 6.4 points a game in the regular season and shot 40.1 percent from three-point territory to go along with 1.1 steals.
#1 Dennis Schroder
Dennis Schroder could command a salary that may or may not be in the price range that the LA Lakers hope to pay him as an unrestricted free agent.
If he asks for a salary in the $20+ million range a year, which could actually be his price on the market, the LA Lakers may choose to re-sign him. They could re-sign him as a part of a sign-and-trade deal or keep him and stay on the lookout for a potential deal with a player who could be a better fit.
Schroder had a good season and was the LA Lakers’ third-best scorer with 15.4 points and 5.8 assists a game. Unfortunately, the Lakers needed more from him, particularly a three-point shot. He was tied for ninth on the team in threes, with 33.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The German-born player, however, showed that he could play tough defense on a regular basis, and the Lakers will expect that from him if he stays.
This is a tough call for the LA Lakers. Unless they can find a better replacement on the market, they should keep Schroder on the roster rather than lose him for nothing.
Also Read: 5 oldest players to score 30 points in an NBA Finals game
Guess the Lakers players!
