The LA Lakers are set up for 2015 and they have free agent money to spend and the team may look at trade deals and other options next summer, as Eric Bledsoe, Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio, Goran Dragic, Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge all could be potential targets after Jeremy Lin and Steve Nash finish their contracts for Los Angeles to bring in to support Kobe Bryant in the twilight of his career.
The Lakers have money to spend and while they could have tried to do that this season, the team felt it was a better idea to wait until "better" free agents were on the market to spend big. The team knows that they have Lin and Nash on expiring deals and they also had hoped for Kevin Love to be on the market as a free agent, but that clearly is not happening. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers will look at Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Rondo if they make it to the market and they also may target Gasol as a free agent next summer.
The reports about Bledsoe and Dragic say that the Lakers will try and woo both players to sign if they hit the market together and that could happen if Bledsoe takes a one year deal. Bledsoe and the Suns have been at odds over a deal and he could look to sign a one year contract over a long term deal and that could make him a free agent next summer. Dragic has an option for next season and while it's likely he stays with the Suns (especially if they sign his brother Zoran) the Lakers feel they will have a chance if he hits the market.
Reports say that Rondo has not asked the Celtics for a trade yet and even if he never does, there is a very good chance he will come up in trade rumors anyway. Boston is coming into the season looking to see if Rondo can stay healthy for a full year after his ACL surgery and once the trade deadline comes along, teams will be calling about him. Rondo is in the last year of the extension he signed with the Celtics and team likely wants to see if they will be any good on top of watching for Rondo to stay healthy.
The Lakers traded for Jeremy Lin and they have Steve Nash in the fold and by next season those players likely will be gone. The Lakers have been mentioned as an option for Rondo and they have also looked at Bledsoe this offseason. Rocky Rubio is nearing a decision on his future as well and once next year hits, the Lakers could make some major moves.
The team signed a number of free agents and their own players back and while they will not be great, the Lakers should be better than last season. The team also added Carlos Boozer and signed back Ryan Kelly, Wesley Johnson as well as Xavier Henry and Swaggy P himself Nick Young after he led the team in scoring last season. Byron Scott will bring an intensity to the team and even if they don't make the playoffs, they should be a team that hangs tight with their west opponents.
