The LA Lakers are one team chasing free agent Isaiah Thomas along with names like Chandler Parsons, Luol Deng and Greg Monroe, while a trade for Klay Thompson is still a possibility for Kobe Bryant and this comes as Thomas is one of the top players left on the market after Kyle Lowry signed back with the Raptors, as the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks are interested in the Sacramento Kings point guard, who has admitted he was a Los Angeles Lakers fan as a kid and would love to play with Kobe.
The Lakers are looking at Carmelo Anthony as their top free agent target and if they miss out on him they could go after Thomas or Luol Deng in free agency. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Thomas is a hot target on the market and on top of the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons have shown the most interest, while the NY Knicks, Mavericks and Miami Heat are also looking at Thomas. The Sacramento Kings would love to keep Thomas, but he likely will be too expensive and Pro Basketball Talk is reporting that the team is looking to be aggressive on the trade market this summer.
The Kings were aggressive last season and traded for Derrick Williams and Rudy Gay and now they may look at trying to flip Williams as well as one of their other forwards. According to the Sacramento Bee, the Kings have $20 million wrapped up in the power forward/interior position and they may look at trades to help free up cap space, including with Williams, Reggie Evans, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson. DeMarcus Cousins is a franchise building block and the team is hoping Gay will stay another year as well as the team tries to get more talent around Cousins and newly drafted star Nik Stauskas. The team signed Darren Collison to a deal and that likely signals the end for Thomas in Sacramento after a very fine season.
Pro Basketball Talk reports that the Pistons could be looking for Thomas in a three year, $24 million contract and teams could offer a similar deal at $7 million per season. The Lakers have the cap space to make a move and if the Pistons acquire Thomas, it could mean the end for Brandon Jennings after his sign and trade last offseason. Thomas averaged over 20 points with six assists per game while shooting better than 45 percent from the floor and he could be a key signing for a team like Miami or the Phoenix Suns.
The Lakers are interested in signing Carmelo Anthony this offseason and what he does may dictate what the franchise eventually does in free agency. The Lakers have plenty of cap space and no long term commitments apart from Kobe Bryant and Julius Randle and that could be a perfect fit for Thomas, as he has previously said he was a Lakers fan growing up. Eric Bledsoe and Luol Deng are also options for the team and they are being targeted by the Miami Heat as well and some of those free agents could be options as Miami tries to keep the Big 3 together.
