On July 1, Beijing time, just now, the Lakers signed three free agents in a row, namely Troy Brown, Lonnie Walker and Damian Jones . In this way, their roster already has 11 players, and there are only 4 vacancies left.
It is worth mentioning that the three new players signed by the Lakers all come from Klutch brokerage, that is, the companies founded by James and Rich Paul . According to the report of Shams Charania, an authoritative reporter from NBA, Lonnie Walker signed a middle-class special case of $6.5 million in one year, which means that Pelinka can only use the basic salary to strengthen the next step, and the operating space is very limited.
What everyone cares about most at the moment is the strength of this Walker. He played for the Spurs last season and averaged 12.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He is a 1.93-meter-tall striker swingman . Although the data looks pretty good, Walker's shooting ability is not outstanding. His three-point shooting percentage last season was only 31.5%. In addition, his defensive ability is not very good. It depends on how the new coach Ham uses him.
To be honest, the addition of these three new players has not had much impact on the Lakers' overall combat power, and just now they suffered another heavy blow. According to the latest news brought by NBA reporter Brett Siegel, Monk has signed a two-year, $19 million contract with the Kings. You should know that he is the strongest scoring point outside the Big Three last season. His departure is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the team, but it is reasonable. After all, the Lakers do not have the salary space to keep him.
Immediately afterwards, Lakers' team reporter Evan Massey brought another important message. Pelinka has now targeted Oladipo in the free market, hoping to use him to fill the vacancy brought by Monk's departure. I believe everyone is familiar with Oladipo. He was selected into the All-Star lineup in 2017 and 2018, and even selected into the Best Defensive Team for a while. Unfortunately, he was ruined by injuries later. Last season, he played for Heat . Oladipo averaged 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 47.9%, and a three-point shooting percentage of 41.7%. After entering playoffs , he can average 10+3+2 per game. It would be quite good if he could recruit him with a basic salary.
On the other end, since Kevin Durant has submitted a transaction application to Nets , according to the joint report of NBA famous reporters Jovan Buha and Sam Amick, this undoubtedly greatly increases the probability of Kyrie Irving joining the Lakers. According to famous reporter Dave McMenamin, Irving is now the Lakers' first trading target, but whether this deal is successful depends on whether the Lakers are willing to pay for their first round picks in 2027 and 2029. According to previous news, the Lakers have made it clear that they will never overdraw their future to strengthen, but if the trading target is Irving, are they willing to change their plans?
In addition, ESPN famous artist Stephen A-Smith also broke a big news on the show, saying that Irving is telling everyone that he plans to join the Lakers. Once he is allowed to become a free agent, he will immediately wear the Lakers uniform and reunite with LeBron James . Due to this consideration, the Nets will most likely send Irving away before the trading deadline for next season. So will the Lakers be willing to give him their first round pick? Let's wait and see!
