This NBA off-season, the Los Angeles Lakers were unsuccessful in luring a big name to team with Kobe Bryant and help lead the team into the future, leading many to question whether or not the Lakers are still a top free agent destination.
While that question will be answered in the future, right now the Lakers are a team full of young guys looking to prove they NBA-caliber players. This makes them a destination for players who haven’t had the chance to get consistent minutes.
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One player who fits that criteria is Houston Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas who, in an interview with Talkbasket.net, named the Lakers as the team he would most want to play for if he left the Rockets:
Most likely in Los Angeles because there are no serious bigs and I would likely get chances to play. I mean the Lakers, not the Clippers.
Motiejunas has averaged only 14 minutes per game in his two seasons in Houston and fell out of the rotation down the stretch last season in favor of Terrence Jones. He did not touch the floor for the Rockets during the playoffs last year.
He does have a point about the chance to make an impact with the Lakers. Despite having a glut of big men, especially power forwards, none of them are absolutely locked in as a starter or impact player.
The Lakers already added one former Rocket this off-season in Jeremy Lin, but the chances of them bringing in Motiejunas is unlikely. The Rockets have a team-option on him after this season and unless they are set to bring in another superstar to team with James Harden and Dwight Howard, they will likely keep him around.
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