The Los Angeles Lakers will have money to spend in the future and some targets for the team include a Rajon Rondo trade, Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe, Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge among other players that could potentially hit the market and they also could be interested in trades once Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin are gone, including for someone like Ricky Rubio with the Timberwolves.
According to ESPN.com, Rubio, Rondo and Bledsoe all could be targets next year along with Goran Dragic, as the Lakers will have more money to spend when free agency hits.The Lakers are coming into the season after being one of the worst teams in the league and they are praying that Kobe Bryant can come back healthy as Byron Scott takes over as head coach.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers may be looking at Michael Beasley and Jordan Crawford as options, as they want to add some extra scoring for depth on the bench this season. Byron Scott was officially introduced as head coach and he is hoping to bring a more defensive approach for the team this season after they struggled last year.
Getting Bryant back will be a boost for the team and some other names on the market the team could look at includes Blatche and Emeka Okafor, who was injured last season. The Lakers won just 27 games last season, but they should be able to at least challenge for a playoff spot after not coming close last year.
The Lakers kept a number of players from the team last year and they signed back Wes Johnson along with Ryan Kelly and Nick Young. The team also kept Xavier Henry, but they lost Kendall Marshall after he played well, as the team placed him on waivers and was hoping to re-sign him, but the Bucks put a claim on him to thwart that plan. Young and Kelly signed extensions and Young is now in on a four year deal after setting career highs last season and all those players can help with the loss of Jodie Meeks, who also set career highs last season with the Lakers.
The Lakers signed Ed Davis to a free agent deal after missing out on Pau Gasol and he can offer some support up front along with rookie Julius Randle. Last season Davis averaged 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds for the Grizzlies and now he has signed on a two year deal to help replace Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman after both signed with other teams. Jordan Hill is also in that mix and Ryan Kelly comes back after a solid rookie season. Young averaged a career high amount of points with the Lakers and he is back on a four year deal, while Kelly signed a small two year deal to stay with Los Angeles.
The Lakers have Bryant along with Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin in and while they would have loved to have signed Carmelo or someone like Eric Bledsoe, the team realizes that the future could be bright. The Lakers have cleared tons of space in the future and next summer they are planning to spend big.