The LA Lakers have positioned themselves to make moves in 2015 as a destination for free agents and the team may look at Rajon Rondo, Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe, Goran Dragic and Marc Gasol if those players make it to the market, as Kobe Bryant will need support going forward and once Jeremy Lin and Steve Nash are off the books, the team will have even more to spend on players.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers are planning on targeting free agents next summer and while they went after Carmelo Anthony this year, the plan was to spend big next season. Nash and Lin are on expiring deals and the way things are going, it looks like Greg Monroe, Eric Bledsoe and Rajon Rondo will be on the free agent market. The team originally wanted Kevin Love, but now he is off the market after being traded to the Cavaliers and that means the Lakers will have to change things up a bit.
The Lakers have made some solid moves this offseason and they retained most of their free agents and also added players. The team kept leading scorer Nick Young and signed him to a four year deal, while Ryan Kelly is also back after a solid rookie season. Los Angeles also kept Wesley Johnson and he gives the team some solid depth, while Xavier Henry is also back for the Lakers.
Los Angeles went after Carlos Boozer after the Bulls hit him with the amnesty clause and now he is in on a small deal after he was way overpaid last season. Boozer was making over $16 million in Chicago so they had no choice but to cut him loose after playing 28 minutes over game, but his averages of 13 points and eight rebounds is right in line with his new $3 million salary with the Lakers.
The team also added Jeremy Lin in a trade with the Houston Rockets and now he likely will be the starting point guard over Steve Nash. The team could look at trading Nash at some point this season but it's unlikely that will happen and if he is healthy he actually could be a nice reserve backup for Lin and can spell him at times.
The key for the Lakers is having Kobe Bryant back healthy and while he is not the player he once was, Bryant still is one of the list skilled in the league and if he plays more than 70 games the team likely will be in the playoffs. The Lakers had their worst season in years last season with Bryant on the sidelines, but the team at least got Julius Randle out of it in the draft.
Randle likely would have been a top three pick had it been another year, but that played to an advantage for the Lakers. The top of the draft had names Kiel Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid and that pushed Randle to the Lakers and they are thrilled with that development. The LA Lakers had a terrible season last year and now with Byron Scott as head coach, the team is looking to improve in all facets and some free agent options still available include Michael Beasley, Jordan Crawford, Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum, while Los Angeles may also look at a Steve Nash trade at some point this season.
