The Los Angeles Lakers still haven’t made any big moves in NBA free agency. Now that Day 3 of free agency is upon us, Lakers rumors are starting to heat up. One such Lakers free agency rumor is that the team may be interested in making a risky decision at the point guard position. Sam Amick of The Athletic broke the news that the Damian Lillard-Lakers rumors have some legitimacy.
“The Warriors, Celtics and Lakers are among the teams that have interest in doing a deal with Damian Lillard sooner rather than later, sources tell @eric_nehm, @sam_amick and @joevardon. Lillard received calls from several contending teams quickly after the news of his Bucks’ ending broke. The question is whether he wants to sign with a team now and rehabilitate while under their care or wait until next summer to reassess the situation.”
A Damian Lillard-Lakers signing would be a risk for Los Angeles. Damian Lillard showed last season that he is still an elite scorer and playmaker in the NBA. However, when he went down with an Achilles tear, his stock plummeted.
Now, Lillard will likely take all of next season off, making any Lillard free agency signing a significant risk.
The Lakers could absolutely use a ball handler like Lillard to take some offensive pressure off of Luka Dončić. The question is, do they want that person to be 34 years old and coming off a major injury? Ideally no.
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Still, because of the Lillard-Bucks contract buyout, he may be available on the free agent market for cheap. If a Damian Lillard-Lakers contract on the veteran minimum for two years is on the table, taking on Lillard’s dead weight next season becomes completely worth it.
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