Lakers Sleeper Contracts to Pursue in NBA Free Agency
The Los Angeles Lakers have a single summer to transform this 49-loss team into an NBA title contender.
That's the championship-or-bust reality of having LeBron James on the roster, and the pressure is even more magnified with his 37th birthday behind him and only a single contracted season ahead.
Assuming the Lakers can't convince anyone to take Russell Westbrook off of their hands, they'll be roster-building on a budget this offseason. That makes bargain-finding a must, and these sleeper targets all have a chance to outperform their next pact.
Isaiah Hartenstein
Regardless how much time the Lakers plan to give Anthony Davis at center next season, their 5 spot could use a reinforcement or two. Free agency awaits Dwight Howard, and while a reunion shouldn't be ruled out, L.A. probably shouldn't put all of its eggs in the basket of a 36-year-old reserve.
Convincing Isaiah Hartenstein to switch locker rooms at Staples Center could be a fascinating way to address the backup big man role.
He boasts impressive skills for anyone, let alone a 7-foot, 250-pounder. This past season, he bagged 62.6 percent of his shots overall, 61 percent of his floaters, per NBA.com, and 46.7 percent of his triples. He also combined those sizzling shooting rates with per-36-minutes averages of 9.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.5 steals, per Basketball-Reference.com.
If Hartenstein merely maintains this production, he could be a steal. If the 24-year-old hits another gear going forward, he could be the steal of the summer.
Tyus Jones
The Lakers need a lift at point guard, and that's true regardless what their plans are with Westbrook.
For a point guard to play in L.A., that player must be trustworthy enough to justify taking the ball out of LeBron's hands. Tyus Jones has earned that level of trust with the astronomic gap between his assists (career 3.7 per game) and his turnovers (0.7).
The ball control is what first gets him noticed, though that alone shouldn't tempt teams into overpaying him. The rest of his subtly impressive stats don't appear like bank-breakers, either.
Since he has yet to average even 23 minutes in a season, no part of his stat sheet jumps off the page, but the Lakers should still be drawn to his numbers. He just hit a slew of personal bests this past season (including 8.7 points and 39 percent three-point shooting), and if L.A. thinks his game is still growing, it can pay for his production now and count any potential he realizes as profit.
Victor Oladipo
The Lakers need to find more ball-handlers and perimeter stoppers this summer.
Victor Oladipo offers the chance to scratch both itches.
While a rash of injuries have potentially permanently removed him from his All-Star past, he still has plenty to offer in a supporting role. He didn't debut this season until mid-March, made just eight regular-season appearances in all and still wound up logging the seventh-most playoff minutes for the Miami Heat, the East's No. 1 seed and a conference finalist.
His defense remains as pesky as they come, he can initiate offense and there are flashes of the skill set that once made him a two-way force. There are enough layers to his game to give him a significant role, and he could expand well beyond that if more of his All-Star touch returns.