2019 NBA free agency is underway and within the first few hours, a majority of the players on the open market signed lucrative contracts similar to what happened in 2016.
One of the teams that did not participate in the frenzy was the Los Angeles Lakers as they still have a little over $32 million in cap space to pursue the best free agent left on the board, Kawhi Leonard.
Until Leonard makes his decision, the Lakers cannot do anything other than hand out minimum deal. They have reportedly signed both Troy Daniels and Jared Dudley, but still have a long way to go to fill out their roster.
Considering many teams no longer have cap space to work with, there could be some value deals to be had for the Lakers. One of the players they are interested in is Justin Holiday, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic:
Free agent Justin Holiday is considering interest from several teams including the Lakers, Clippers, Bulls, Raptors, Pacers, Wizards, Hornets and Cavaliers, league sources told @TheAthleticNBA. Memphis is open to a sign-and-trade with him.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 4, 2019
Holiday spent the 2018-19 NBA season with the Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies and had one of the best years of his six-year NBA career. The 30-year-old averaged 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 38.6% from the field, 34.8% from three-point range, and 89.6% from the free throw line in all 82 games.
He has averaged 8.1 points (34.9% from the three-point line), 2.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists throughout the course of his career.
Guards will be a point of emphasis for the Lakers in free agency considering the only players currently under roster are forwards and big men.
It seems like the market for Holiday is still fairly large so it may take more than a minimum deal to sign him. Because of that, Holiday may only be an option for the Lakers if they are not able to sign Leonard.
Some veterans that played for the Lakers during last season — namely Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and JaVale McGee — are all also still free agents, so they are still options to fill out the roster.
