Lakers Minimum Contracts to Pursue as Late NBA Free-Agency Steals
The Los Angeles Lakers have kept busy during 2022 NBA free agency.
They lured in some recent top-20 picks (Lonnie Walker IV and Troy Brown Jr.), reshuffled their center rotation (Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones) and snagged a versatile stopper (Juan Toscano-Anderson).
Despite the high level of activity, though, the Lakers don't have to be done shopping. They still have roster spots to fill, and the following targets could be obtainable on minimum deals.
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony's arrival in Hollywood had a ton of intriguing narratives—joining forces with LeBron James (his close friend and 2002 draft classmate) chief among them—but it brought a lot of good basketball, too.
Anthony's scoring punch might not quite be what it was at his peak, but he still knows a slew of ways to put the ball in the basket.
His 13.3 points per game were fifth-highest on the team. His 18.5 points per 36 minutes were his second-most in the last five seasons, per Basketball-Reference.com. He bettered his career shooting rates from three (37.5 for the season, 35.5 for his career) and at the line (83.0, 81.4) and nearly matched it from the field (44.1, 44.7).
His catch-and-shoot stroke alone makes him an easy fit with James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. Tack on Anthony's ability to generate scoring chances against second team defenses, and he could still add value in a regular rotation role.
Eric Bledsoe
Regardless of if the Lakers wind up starting Russell Westbrook or Kyrie Irving at point guard, they'll need some protection at the position.
Why couldn't Eric Bledsoe provide it?
The 32-year-old unceremoniously hit the open market when the Portland Trail Blazers waived him before his contract became fully guaranteed for 2022-23. He wound up being overpaid on that contract (his full guarantee was for $19.3 million), but at the minimum, he could be a cheap source of point-of-attack defense, playmaking and downhill driving.
His peak is well behind him, but he could still excel in a reserve role on a minimum contract.
Ben McLemore
The Lakers should be overloaded with shooters. They aren't.
Somehow, despite having an obvious need for proper spacing around James, Davis and Westbrook, L.A. struggled to field even a league-average perimeter attack this past season. The Lakers were 18th in three-point makes (12.0 per game) and 22nd in three-point percentage (34.7).
Adding a lights-out, long-distance threat like Ben McLemore could help get those numbers closer to where they need to be for this offense to properly function.
Granted, there really aren't other layers to McLemore's game, but his shooting is elite (2.2 threes per night at a 37.5 percent clip since 2018-19), and his specialist skill set is the only reason he fits the budget.