L.A. Lakers to Pursue 3 and D Wing With Final Available Roster Spot

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make any move at the trade deadline, opting to keep their current roster and waiting for the buyout market to unfold.

Los Angeles didn’t want to part with any of its assets, preferring to keep their continuity rather than adding a key piece that may disrupt whatever chemistry they have built since the offseason. However, the Lakers made their move in the buyout market by acquiring one of the top names available in Andre Drummond.

But the Lakers are not yet done. After signing Andre Drummond on Sunday, the Lakers stood at $137.53M in total salaries for the season, leaving them with around $1.39M to spare under the hard cap. Los Angeles has 14 players on their roster, enough for the league minimum. However, with still some cap space left, the Lakers are reportedly looking to add a 3 and D wing player to complete their 15-man roster.

Report: Lakers plan to pursue ‘3-and-D wing’ with their final roster spot https://t.co/HwPAvD5T8c

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) March 29, 2021

Los Angeles is currently 30-17 and they have the 4th best record in the Western Conference, five games behind the West leaders Utah Jazz, and one game off their rivals L.A. Clippers who are in third place.

The best NBA betting sites still have the Lakers with the second-best odds to win the 2021 NBA title, with only the Brooklyn Nets having shorter odds than them. However, the Lakers have the 5th most difficult remaining schedule among the 30 NBA teams with their remaining 25 opponents having an average winning percentage of .529 so the Purple and Gold need help now, especially with LBJ and AD still out due to injuries.

3 and D Wing

At this stage of the season, the free agent market is limited. The likes of Gerald Green, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Wilson Chandler are the top-of-mind names on the list. Then there are the likes of Otto Porter Jr. and Avery Bradley who could be available in the near future if their current teams buy them out.

The #Lakers got their big man, now it’s time for a wing.

Potential buyout targets:

Otto Porter Jr. (Ideal Option)

Wayne Ellington

Avery Bradley

Maurice Harkless

Ben McLemore

— Swish Center (@SwishCenter) March 29, 2021

Porter was recently traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Orlando Magic in the Nikola Vucevic trade. The 27-year old Georgetown product is making $28.4M this season and is in the final year of his contract. With Orlando on a full rebuild and Porter on an expiring contract, there is a chance that Porter will get bought out by Orlando.

Bradley was dumped to the Houston Rockets by the Miami Heat during the Victor Oladipo trade. He was the Lakers’ starting guard last season prior to the NBA bubble tournament. Bradley opted not to play at Disney World and that enabled KCP to thrive during the playoffs during their title run. With the Rockets also rebuilding, Bradley may not be a part of their future plans.

April 9th Deadline

The issue with Porter and Bradley however, is that they need to be bought out by their respective teams for the Lakers to have at least the chance of signing them. Getting released by their mother teams is one thing, having them bought out before the April 9th deadline will be another because players need to be bought out by that date for them to be eligible to play in the postseason.

Buyouts can happen at any time. Blake Griffin is already with the Nets. For players to be eligible for the playoffs though, the buyout deadline is April 9. Usually they happen shortly after the trade deadline though since teams then know they won’t get anything in return. https://t.co/eaoig7yMTg

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) March 25, 2021

There could be other surprise names who will be bought out before April 9th. But one thing is clear. The Lakers are not yet done after adding Andre Drummond. While Drummond will be a huge lift for the defending champions when it comes to defense and frontline production, the team could be without LeBron James for the next four to six weeks and Anthony Davis still doesn’t have a timeline.

The Lakers need that wing scoring support now to keep themselves afloat in the team standings and they need that defensive presence in the playoffs when their stars are back. It will be interesting to see how creative Rob Pelinka and Frank Vogel can be to get the Lakers that final piece of the championship puzzle.