The Los Angeles Lakers are interested in guards Jevon Carter, Shake Milton and Cory Joseph this offseason, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
“The Los Angeles Lakers want to re-sign Dennis Schroeder but also have other point guards on their radar, including Jevon Carter, Shake Milton, Cory Joseph, etc., league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote.
If the Lakers are unable to bring back Schroder or Lonnie Walker IV, who are both unrestricted free agents this offseason, one of these other three guards could be a nice replacement.
Carter, 27, played a big role for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022-23 season, appearing in 81 games and making 39 starts. He averaged 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting an impressive 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lakers certainly will value players who can shoot the ball at a high level since they want to space the floor around stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The team acquired a bunch of shooting at the trade deadline in the 2022-23 season in Malik Beasley, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura.
Milton, who is listed as a shooting guard, has spent the past five seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.
A second-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Milton has flashed his potential as a scorer at various points in his NBA career, averaging a career-high 13.0 points per game in the 2020-21 season.
During the 2022-23 campaign, Milton started 11 games for the Sixers and appeared in 76 contests while averaging 8.4 points per game and shooting 47.9 percent from the field. He’s also a marksman from beyond the arc, shooting 36.5 percent from 3 in his NBA career.
Joseph, a veteran point guard, spent the last two seasons and part of the 2020-21 season with the Detroit Pistons. An NBA champion in 2014, Joseph averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 assists per game in the 2022-23 season for Detroit while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from 3-point range.
All three of these guards would be solid options for the Lakers in the offseason, especially if Schroder ends up walking in free agency.
The team’s plan will likely become clearer once it irons out deals with some of the free agents from the 2022-23 season’s team, including Russell, Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Schroder.
It will be interesting to see how the markets for Carter, Joseph and Milton shake out once free agency begins.
