Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players that the Lakers shouldn't have brought back for the 2019-20 season
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2019 off-season with the primary goal of pulling off a trade for Anthony Davis. The path to acquiring Davis initially appeared complicated, although the Lakers wrapped up a blockbuster trade well ahead of free agency, and the organisation quickly turned their efforts to luring Kawhi Leonard.
While Leonard considered the Lakers, he eventually signed with their city rivals, leaving the Lakers scrambling to fill out a depleted roster. With almost $30 million in cap space available, the Lakers bought in an array of players, although some of these deals already look bad.
So, as the 19-20 season quickly approaches, here are three players that the Lakers shouldn’t have bought back for the upcoming campaign.
#3 JaVale McGee
After joining the Los Angeles Lakers from the Golden State Warriors last summer, JaVale McGee enjoyed a terrific start to the 18-19 season. The veteran big struck up a notable partnership with LeBron James, while also averaging some of the best numbers of his career. However, McGee’s form dipped after the All-Star break and Luke Walton eventually decided to take him out of his starting lineup.
Nevertheless, during the Lakers' off-season splurge, McGee signed a new two-year deal worth $8.2 million. While this was by no means one of the worst deals handed out during a chaotic start to free agency, it made little sense for the Lakers to bring the veteran back for anything more than another minimum deal.
With Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins both joining this summer, the Lakers already have two of the NBA’s elite big men, and McGee could struggle to find much of a role in Frank Vogel’s rotation.