The Los Angeles Lakers will go through an offseason of change this summer. They will have a new head coach and will have plenty of new faces following the expected departures from their roster. One of the names that will likely go elsewhere is D’Angelo Russell.
The latest reporting suggests that Russell will decline his player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the All-Star guard can’t stay in Los Angeles. The Lakers can still sign Russell to a long-term deal. However, after seeing his shortcomings in the playoffs, it doesn’t make much sense for them to retain him and run it back with the same team.
Instead, the Lakers need to find better fits on the free-agent market. Their primary need is obviously shooting, especially with Russell’s departure.
It’s not easy to find players who can shoot and defend reliably at the same time. Those players are extremely valuable in the league, but there may be some options for the Lakers this summer.
One of the issues for the Lakers is that they have very limited cap space, even with Russell leaving. They can create more if needed, by moving on from Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt, or using them in a sign-and-trade.
But, unless LeBron James re-signs with the Lakers for a shockingly small salary, the Lakers will likely not have more than the taxpayer mid-level exception to work with this summer. Let’s take a look at who they can target.
1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
This would be the return of KCP to Los Angeles and it will likely require a sign-and-trade or clearing more cap space on the Lakers’ part. It may be hard to pull off for the front office but Caldwell-Pope needs to be on the top of the list for the Lakers this summer.
Caldwell-Pope is the exact type of player the Lakers are looking for. It is extremely frustrating that the Lakers already had him on a team-friendly contract, but general manager Rob Pelinka decided to include him in the Russell Westbrook trade. It’s undeniable that the Lakers would have looked completely different and much better if they still had KCP.
The 31-year-old shooting guard is the prototypical 3-and-D player. He can guard multiple positions, hits 40% from three, and has no weaknesses in his game. He may not bring the shot creation D’Angelo Russell does, but he is a much more valuable player for a contender.
2. De’Anthony Melton
This one is more realistic for the Lakers. De’Anthony Melton doesn’t have the stature Caldwell-Pope does and should be more acquirable in the free-agent market. He spent the last two seasons in Philadelphia and established himself as one of the better 3-and-D guards in the league.
Melton was on a four-year, $35 million contract that expires this summer. Considering that he spent most of the 2023-24 season sidelined with injury, he shouldn’t garner significantly more than that on the open market. The Lakers can certainly afford to give him a similar contract this offseason.
In two seasons with the Sixers, Melton averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 37.9% from three. He is obviously not the offensive talent D’Angelo Russell is and would need to play next to another point guard, but he is one of the better defenders in his position.
He can guard multiple positions, but is also a very active help defender, getting in passing lanes, and running out in transition for easy buckets.
Plus, Melton is only 25 years old. He should get better going forward, so whatever contract he ends up getting will be very movable regardless.
This is a different type of player from Melton and Caldwell-Pope. Tyus Jones is a pure point guard who is adept at setting the table for his teammates on the offensive end.
Similar to Russell, Jones also has his defensive shortcomings. He is undersized at 6’1. He is not strong enough to guard multiple positions, and he doesn’t have the length or athleticism to be a solid perimeter defender.
However, he is one of the most underrated point guards in the league. Jones has been a very good floor general throughout his career, consistently leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. Even on the extremely limited Wizards team last season, he averaged 7.3 assists to only one turnover per game.
On top of his playmaking, he is an efficient scorer, having finished the 2023-24 campaign averaging 12 points per game on 48.9% from the field and 41.4% from three. He will not change the fate of your franchise, but he is an excellent caretaker and will almost certainly make the Lakers’ offense look much more organized.
Plus, he will come cheaper than some of the names on this list. He doesn’t have the long-standing reputation as a starter and he was understandably forgotten in Washington last season. He should be gettable for the Lakers.
4. Klay Thompson
Perhaps this one is more of a pipe dream. Klay Thompson in a Lakers uniform has long been a fantasy for fans in Los Angeles. He is a Los Angeles native, has the championship pedigree and the star shine the Lakers as an organization loves. And now, he is hitting unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career, and his price tag might be within the Lakers’ range.
That all depends on whether the Golden State Warriors and Thompson decide to call it quits. Klay has been there since 2011 and is one of the faces of the franchise, having won four championships there. At age 34, it would be a huge change to leave Golden State.
The only reason one could see the five-time All-Star leave the Warriors would be financial. Golden State is an expensive team and is nowhere close to title contention. There is a chance they might think that it’s not worth bringing Thompson back and paying the luxury tax for a play-in-level team.
In that case, the Lakers are unlikely to give him the best offer. Even though Thompson is not in his prime anymore, he is still an excellent fit anywhere due to his elite shooting and floor spacing. Every team with cap space will target him this offseason.
Of course, Thompson could give the Lakers a hometown discount and join James and Anthony Davis. He would immediately be the best shooter the Lakers had in the LeBron era and bring this offense to the next level.
