With the NBA Draft in the rearview mirror the Los Angeles Lakers now will focus on free agency, which begins on July 1st. President of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, and general manager, Rob Pelinka, will try and find the right pieces to ass to the foundation that has been set.
Head coach Luke Walton’s offensive system is geared to resemble a that of the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers already have their floor general in Lonzo Ball, who they took with the second pick in the draft, as well as promising wing Brandon Ingram.
In order to further enhance the system the Lakers need to add shooters to their team. As a team last season the Lakers shot 34.6 percent from behind the arc, good for only 22nd in the league. Furthermore, the team’s two best shooters last season, Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell, are no longer with the franchise.
It would be highly beneficial for them to add quality shooters because that would not only make things easier for Ball but also open up space for their interior players. According to Serena Winters of Lakers Nation, Pelinka says shooting is the top priority for the Lakers in free agency:
Rob Pelinka said shooting is at the top of the list when it comes to free agency priorities.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) June 23, 2017
There are a lot of top shooters getting set to enter free agency including Gordon Hayward, Otto Porter, JJ Redick, and Dion Waiters. The problem is that these players will most likely command more money than the Lakers would be willing to lend out.
Pelinka has stated that the team will not overly pay for free agents this summer. The goal is preserve cap space for the summer of 2018 when the Lakers would be capable of possibly signing two max-level players. It has already been a busy offseason for the Lakers and With free agency around the corner it won’t be letting up anytime soon.
