The NBA free agent market has names like JaVale McGee, Brendan Haywood, Carlos Boozer, Mike Miller and Reggie Evans available and those players could be potential options for the LA Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, NY Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics this summer heading into training camp.
Teams are trying to finish off their rosters for camp and the Lakers have some space and could look at McGee as an option. According to Alex Kennedy at Basketball Insiders, McGee is being targeted by the Mavericks and Lakers and sources report that McGee is "focused on getting healthy" and that "several teams have shown interest." Kennedy writes that the Mavericks and Lakers "seem like frontrunners" to sign McGee this summer.
Brendan Haywood was released by the Blazers after he was traded to the team from the Cavaliers and now he is a free agent. According to Marc Stein at ESPN, the Lakers, Bulls and Mavericks could be potential fits for Haywood. The Lakers have 12 guaranteed contracts on the roster and the team has room to continue making moves. McGee is a solid option, as the Los Angeles Times reports that the team wants to add depth at center behind Roy Hibbert and Robert Sacre.
The Lakers are in the mix for McGee and the team also could be interested in adding depth at point guard as well. Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell are both young and the Lakers want some experience behind those two. The team had interest in the Ty Lawson trade and that did not happen for them and Pro Basketball Talk reports that the Lakers are working out Bobby Brown, Toure Murry, DJ Kennedy and Sean Kilpatrick. Those players could be camp options and it comes after Jonathan Holmes got a contract to compete in camp.
The Chicago Bulls could look at adding a big man moving forward, as they only have one true center on the roster with Joakim Noah. The team reportedly had some interest in Kevin Seraphin, but he ended up signing with the Knicks. McGee could be an option, while Haywood, Reggie Evans and Greg Stiemsma could be solid depth behind Noah. The team is set at forward with Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson and the newly drafted Bobby Portis, but the team needs more at center.
Reggie Evans is a target to return to the Kings, as reports have DeMarcus Cousins in favor of bringing back Evans. Cousins and the Kings were mentioned in numerous trade rumors this summer, but it looks like Cousins will remain with Sacramento for the near future. Haywood comes in after playing in just 22 games for the Cavs last season and he averaged just 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Haywood could be a solid depth option for teams and the Cavs were certain to trade him because his contract was non-guaranteed.
McGee has interest but his main issue is whether or not he can stay healthy for a chunk of the season. McGee has missed over 100 games in the past couple years and he played in just 23 last season. Miller comes in after being traded by the Cavs and waived by the Blazers and now he could be a target for the Mavericks, Thunder and Grizzlies, according to Marc Stein at ESPN. Miller played in 52 games last season and averaged two points per game for the Cavs.