The Los Angeles Lakers will certainly look to bolster their roster this offseason to improve their chances at winning back-to-back NBA titles.
While the Lakers could experience a quiet offseason due to the fact that they are over the cap, ESPN NBA front office insider Bobby Marks broke down a list of names that the Lakers could target with their $9.3 midlevel exception and $3.6 million bi-annual exception.
“Some names to keep an eye on with the Lakers’ $9.3 million midlevel and $3.6 million bi-annual exceptions — including their own free agents Markieff Morris and Dwight Howard — are Jeff Teague, D.J. Augustin, Jordan Clarkson, Maurice Harkless and Nerlens Noel,” Marks wrote.
Through the list, it is clear that the Lakers are expected to try to address their relative weakness in the backcourt.
While Rajon Rondo, Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played extremely well in the playoffs, there is no guarantee that Rondo or Caldwell-Pope will be back.
In fact, both players are expected to opt out of their player options this offseason.
Teague, Augustin or Clarkson would all offer another scoring option for the Lakers, with Clarkson being the most offensively gifted amongst the bunch.
Last season, he averaged 15.2 points per game.
As for the big men that were listed, Harkless or Noel could offer depth to help give superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James breaks throughout games next season.
Only time will tell if any of these players will end up wearing the purple and gold next season. What is clear, is that the eyes of the NBA are already focused on what the defending champs will do to strengthen their claim for the crown.
