The Los Angeles Lakers essentially have a brand-new roster with only LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Talen Horton-Tucker returning from last year’s team.
Because of that, it is gonna take time for this year’s team to gel together and reach their championship potential. That has been evident by them starting off 0-4 in the preseason, although some of that can also be attributed to key players being in and out of the lineup.
The Lakers’ latest loss wasn’t pretty as they were blown out by the Phoenix Suns at home on Sunday night. That led to arguably the best free agents remaining in the NBA, James Ennis, taking to social media to plead for the Lakers to sign him because of his defensive ability:
I play defense sign me already lol
— James Ennis (@JamesDa_Truth) October 11, 2021
Ennis has been linked to the Lakers all offseason, recently working out with the team in hopes of landing a roster spot with his hometown franchise.
The Lakers ultimately decided to go a different way though, instead elevating undrafted rookie Austin Reaves from a two-way contract to a standard NBA contract, taking up the team’s 14th guaranteed roster spot.
Teams are allowed to have 15 players though, so it’s still possible they bring in Ennis although they have indicated they want to leave that spot open going into the season to maintain flexibility.
Given the Lakers’ recent wrath of injuries though, it will be interesting to see if they maintain their position on that. The Lakers could certainly use one more wing player after losing both Trevor Ariza and Talen Horton-Tucker, and Ennis could fill that role as a bigger defender that can also knock down some outside shots.
Horton-Tucker to undergo surgery on injured thumb
The reason the Lakers could be in search of another player is that Horton-Tucker recently suffered a torn ligament in his thumb. Reports indicate he will undergo surgery to repair it, which means he could miss at least the first couple months of the season.
Without Ariza and Horton-Tucker, the Lakers will only have 12 healthy guaranteed players on their roster. Considering more injuries could happen at any time, signing Ennis may be worth it just to have an extra healthy body to get through the regular season.
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