The Los Angeles Lakers could target free agents like Kosta Koufos, Jason Smith, Amar'e Stoudemire, Jordan Hill or Josh Smith after losing out on LaMarcus Aldridge and this comes as a trade for Roy Hibbert or David Lee could be options as LA tries to bring in some players in free agency.
The Lakers made a push for Aldridge with two meetings in free agency, but he reportedly will sign with the San Antonio Spurs. According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, the Lakers have "expressed interest" in Jason Smith and Amar'e Stoudemire and they could look at bringing in one of those free agents after losing out on Aldridge. The team let Ed Davis go in free agency and Chris Broussard reports that Kosta Koufos also could be an option.
UPDATE: the Lakers and Pacers are working on a Roy Hibbert trade after missing out on LaMarcus Aldridge. On Twitter" @JeffZillgitt: As has been reported by @ESPNSteinLine, Roy Hibbert will be traded to the Lakers. Two sides working on rest of the deal right now." UPDATE: Lou Williams is agreeing on a deal with the Lakers. Nick Young could be traded after the team worked a deal for Brandon Bass and Hibbert. UPDATE: Nick Young, Ryan Kelly, Robert Sacre are being shopped in trades. Check here for more.
The Lakers could look at bringing back Jordan Hill if other players sign elsewhere in free agency and Koufos also could be an option. According to Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports, Koufos could be a target for the Lakers and the Clippers after DeAndre Jordan signed with the Dallas Mavericks. Wojnarowski reports that the Memphis Grizzlies could be interested in working out a sign and trade with Koufos and this comes as Marc Gasol is close to agreeing to a new deal.
The Mavericks had interest in Koufos, but now DeAndre Jordan is coming in and they likely have moved on from that. Stoudemire comes in after playing with the Mavericks for part of last season, while Koufos averaged five points and five rebounds in 81 games with the Grizzlies. The Lakers could look at Koufos along with Smith, who played with the Knicks and averaged eight points and four rebounds in 21 minutes per game
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Lakers are interested in Koufos this offseason after missing out on Aldridge. A Lakers source said that Koufos is "on our radar" and after missing on both Jordan and Aldridge, the team has the potential to make a strong offer. The Lakers are letting Jeremy Lin go with D'Angelo Russell coming in and Jordan Clarkson coming back. Koufos likely will get a look from the team before they go after Hill, Smith or Stoudemire.
Check here for more on the Lakers and their next moves after Aldridge signed with Spurs.
The Lakers got two chances to pitch Aldridge to come to Los Angeles and it's hard to blame him for not picking them over San Antonio. The Lakers may feel like they lost out on Aldridge, but he likely wasn't going to sign there anyway and now the team has mid-level options. The team may have chased Tobias Harris, but he ended up signing back with the Magic and now they could look at Lou Williams, Stoudemire or Smith in free agency.
Stoudemire could be a cheap option after averaging 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while playing with the Knicks and Mavericks. Bleacher Report writes that there is interest in Stoudemire with the Clippers, Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs and Suns, while Smith is also an option for those teams. Koufos is being chased by a number of teams, including the Lakers, Kings and Clippers.