5 free agents LA Lakers must re-sign in the 2021 NBA offseason
The LA Lakers have a lot of work to do in the 2021 NBA offseason, with eight free agents on their roster, including starting point guard Dennis Schroder. The franchise's vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka certainly has some big decisions to make.
After the LA Lakers were booted out of the 2021 NBA Playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, many wondered whether Pelinka and the organization were going to overhaul the roster to turn the team into title contenders again next season.
LA Lakers free agents
To avoid a repeat of this season’s disastrous playoff exit, the LA Lakers will need a careful reconstruction of their roster.
Aside from Schroder, the other LA Lakers free agents are Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, Ben McLemore, Wesley Matthews, Markieff Morris, Jared Dudley and Andre Drummond. They could have a ninth free agent if Montrezl Harrell opts out of his player option for $9.7 million next season.
Assuming Harrell doesn’t opt out, the LA Lakers will have to make tough decisions on the aforementioned free agents. One option for Pelinka is to re-sign some of their players, given that they don’t have much cap room, and then package them in sign-and-trades.
Who should they re-sign and who should they retain? Let’s take a look at 5 players that the LA Lakers should re-sign:
#5 Wesley Matthews
Wesley Matthews had career lows across the board, with a 4.8-point scoring average on 35.3 percent shooting from the field and 33.5 percent from three-point range during the regular season.
For a 3-and-D wing player about to become an unrestricted free agent, that’s not a good sign that you’ll get the big bucks in the offseason.
However, Matthews may have salvaged his LA Lakers career with a strong playoff showing. With injuries ravaging the roster and the defense tightening up in the postseason, Matthews made timely three-pointers and key defensive stops against the Phoenix Suns.
Though his overall playoff numbers still don’t look good, only a few LA Lakers players had positive showings in six games against the Suns. For the right price, Matthews deserves to stay in Tinseltown.
#4 Markieff Morris
An unrestricted free agent, Markieff Morris played a crucial role in the LA Lakers’ run to the 2020 NBA title as a floor-spacing big man. He’s a no-nonsense player who can be counted on to provide instant offense off the bench while playing power forward or center in small-ball lineups.
Morris had an up-and-down season, averaging 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He had several DNP-CDs to his name during the regular season as coach Frank Vogel struggled to find the right combination of players that fit when the LA Lakers acquired Andre Drummond.
The 32-year-old is a good complementary piece, but if another team values him more, the LA Lakers could do a sign-and-trade for a more consistent three-point shooting threat.