Report: Lakers to target 4 veterans in free agency using partial mid-level exception or minimum contracts

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly will target four players using the partial mid-level exception or minimum contracts.

According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the Lakers could try to steal two players from the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

“Players the Lakers will be interested in for the partial midlevel exception or minimum contracts include Nemanja Bjelica, Jeremy Lamb, Jevon Carter and Juan Toscano-Anderson, according to league sources,” Buha wrote.

Bjelica and Toscano-Anderson are both NBA champions after Golden State’s 2022 title. They’re both solid pieces, and they’d give the Lakers some more playoff experience on their roster.

Los Angeles is looking for any way to bolster its depth behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the 2022-23 season. The Lakers missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 campaign after struggling to play well when Davis and James struggled with injuries.

Carter and Lamb are both interesting targets as well. Carter played for both the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets in the 2021-22 season. He averaged 4.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest across 66 regular season appearances. He was also solid from 3-point range last season, shooting 38.8 percent.

Lamb, a former lottery pick, played in 56 games last season for the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings. He averaged 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc.

The Lakers are hoping that they can find a gem in free agency on a team-friendly deal after some of their veteran signings last offseason failed to pan out.