While it’s commendable that the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t drag their feet on beefing up their previously below-average frontcourt, their offseason should be far from finished.
According to LA Sports Hub’s Brian Sampson, the Lakers could reunite their recently added big man, Deandre Ayton, with a 32-year-old former Rookie of the Year to round out their roster.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are still piecing together a roster fit for title contention around LeBron James and Luka Doncic," Sampson wrote Friday. "While their offseason hasn’t exactly lit up the sky like fireworks, they've quietly made a couple of solid moves."
“That number matters because the Lakers hard-capped themselves there by using the nontaxpayer mid-level exception to sign Jake LaRavia ($5.85 million) and Deandre Ayton ($8.1 million). Now, they can’t go a single dollar over $195.9 million for the entire season.”
“Luckily, they’ve already filled 14 roster spots. That leaves just one more opening—and a key decision to make. They could ink second-round pick Adou Theiro, or they could take a more win-now route and sign former Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon.”
“Brogdon’s veteran savvy, positional flexibility, and playoff experience (43 games) would be a huge value add for this Lakers squad. Bonus: he’d be reuniting with Ayton, his former Portland teammate from the 2023-24 season.”
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Brogdon is the perfect role player for a franchise hoping to prove it isn’t a pretender in the Eastern or Western Conference.
Although the Virginia product is considered an NBA journeyman at this stage of his career (he’s played on five different teams since 2016), there’s no question his skill set would help a Lakers franchise coming off a dissatisfying finish to the 2024-25 campaign.
From playing under control as the head of the snake on the offensive end to keeping opponents out of the paint with his impressive lateral quickness, Brogdon ensures he makes a positive impact no matter who he’s competing with.
Brogdon averaged 12.7 points and 4.1 assists per game with the Washington Wizards last year, shooting 43.3% from the field and 28.6% from three (it’s important to note he’s a 38.8% career long-range sniper).
With the 6-foot-4 free agent seeking a return to a competitive
organization and having experience playing alongside Ayton, the Lakers may feel compelled to sign him before the end of the summer.
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