NBA Free Agent Officially started! on Thursdays, Thursdays at 3pm Pacific Timebut Lakers Rumors flew in the hours leading up to the tournament’s legal opening bell. Khobi Price of Orlando Sentinel report earlier on Los Angeles Day – in addition to Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves – is expected to show interest in Mo Bamba after Orlando Magic did not pitch him an offer that qualified and allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent, and he is not the only one to link the Lakers to the four-year veteran bigwig.
According to Jovan Buha’s The Athletic – as plugged into all things Lakers as anyone on the inside – Bamba is one of a number of free rep targets the Lakers would be willing to offer their full mid-range exception to around 6.5 million dollars for:
The players the Lakers will target with the purely mid-level taxpayer exception include Otto Porter Jr., Nicolas Batum, Gary Harris, TJ Warren, Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, Mo Bamba and Danuel House Jr. , according to multiple sources from the union.
Notable on this list is that nearly all of the names are wingers, which makes sense considering that’s the biggest positional weakness the Lakers suffered from last season. They would all be fully defensible contracts for that money (although Batum looks like fate to return to the Clippers). But Bamba could provide enough valuable skill set to merit the use of the Lakers’ biggest contract yet with another major.
Our Alex Regla has Bamba on the list three hubs that the Lakers should try to sign in free agentswrites that he’s exactly the traditional, defensively skilled, defensive type of striker that can perfectly match Anthony Davis on either end:
More consistent reps may also contribute to Bamba’s rediscovery of his shooting ability. Not only does Bamba let it fly from the worm frequently – 44% of his shot record comes from downtown – but he’s also incredibly efficient at doing so.
Bamba made 38% of his total 3 point effort, and 40% of his scoring chance followed Glass cleaning previous season. His 39.3% hit rate when catching and shooting three people second only to Karl-Anthony Town among the centers with at least 200 attempts.
In addition to the welcome floor gap, Bamba will provide the Lakers with a central position, he will also help strengthen their inner defence. With his still other-worldly 7’10” wingspan, Bamba has ranked at least 91 percent in his place in terms of block percentage in every year he’s played so far.
And Bamba, Batum, Otto Porter Jr. and the rest of the names aren’t the only ones the Lakers have their eyes on, according to Buhawho pointed out some players the team can also shop for in the dealer’s free bargain bin:
Players that the Lakers will be interested in for part of an exception or mid-level minimum contract include Nemanja Bjelica, Jeremy Lamb, Jevon Carter and Juan Toscano-Anderson, according to federation sources.
Juan Toscano-Anderson seems like exactly the kind of energetic, young and dynamic athlete the team was so lacking last season, and could provide some solid wing depth if he’s really ready. ready for that little money. Given how quickly the Lakers moved in the game against free agents last year, we’ll probably know how soon he and the rest of the names on this list will be. Stay tuned to Silver Screen and Roll for any updates.
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