The Los Angeles Lakers have been active this offseason and names like Greg Monroe, Eric Bledsoe, Jordan Crawford, Shawn Marion, Andray Blatche, Jameer Nelson, Michael Beasley, Andrew Bynum and Greg Oden are potential free agent targets after the team added Carlos Boozer and as they look at Byron Scott as head coach there is also a potential Steve Nash trade in the future that could be considered.
The Lakers made a number of moves the past week and added Wesley Johnson, Ryan Kelly and Xavier Henry back to the roster while waiving Kendall Marshall to get enough cap space. According up ESPN.com, the team was hoping to sign back Marshall if he cleared waivers but he was claimed and while Monroe and Bledsoe would be great additions, the team is likely not shelling out money for restricted free agents right now.
Boozer could end up being a very valuable addition for the Lakers, as he showed last season that he still can put up solid numbers even in just three quarters of work. Last season he was looked at as a disappointment since he was making over $16 million, but if he was in line with the salary he was making this year, people would think he had a pretty decent performance. With Pau Gasol gone Boozer could have the chance to get a lot of opportunities and he may make a big impact for the Lakers.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers thought about making a play on restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe before signing Carlos Boozer, but the team wanted to give itself cap flexibility and they also knew it was likely the Suns would match the deal anyway. The Lakers would have had to keep the money on the offer sheet as part of the cap and since they knew the Suns would consider matching, they felt it would be a waste. The team likes Bledsoe and felt that he could be the franchise point guard, but with the salary cap issues and Jeremy Lin already there, the team opted to make other moves.
The Lakers have officially added Nick Young aka Swaggy P as well as Ryan Kelly back and now the team has some solid options past Kobe Bryant off the bench. Last season Young played well and now he is on a four-year, $21.5 million deal, while Kelly comes in after playing one season with the team as a rookie and playing well. The team sees Kelly as a very solid contributor and a long term option like Nick Collison with the Thunder and now he is on a deal after averaging 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.8 blocks per game last season, while Young led the team in scoring and averaged a career high 17 points.
The Lakers went just 27-55 last season, but the team chalked that up to injuries and other issues and now they are expecting a rebound. The team is getting back Kobe Bryant and they expect him to be healthy this year and adding back Young and Kelly will help along with Henry and Wes Johnson, both of whom played well in spots last season.
