NBA FREE AGENCY
Key Free Agents: G Dennis Schroder (2020-21 salary – $16M), C Montrezl Harrell (Player Option – $9.7M), G Alex Caruso ($2.7M), F Talen Horton-Tucker ($1.5M), C Andre Drummond ($555K)
Other Free Agents: G Wesley Matthews ($3.6M), G/F Jared Dudley ($1.6M), F Markieff Morris ($1.6M), G Ben McLemore ($455K), F Kostas Antetokounmpo (Two-Way), F Devontae Cacok (Two-Way)
Free Agency is the biggest time of the year for the Los Angeles Lakers and GM Rob Pelinka, which is why this offseason will be no different from years past! Dennis Schroder is the Lakers’ biggest pending free agent this offseason, but the future is very unclear for Schroder at the moment.
He did not necessarily perform well in the postseason for the Lakers and while he declined an $84M contract-extension from the Lakers earlier this year, Schroder still made his intentions clear that he would like to remain in Los Angeles. After losing to the Suns in Game 6, Schroder talked about his future with the Lakers and was asked about his intentions to re-sign with the Lakers this summer.
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“The Lakers, they didn’t do nothing to me. They been great,” Schroder said. “They got the top two players in the league. Everybody in the locker room is great, so at the end of the day, like I said, I want to be here and win the championship. That’s not even a question.”
Dennis Schroder obviously would like to return and play with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis next season, but the question that remains is if the Lakers want him back. He earned $16M this past season and his price tag likely would only rise from this past season given the multiple teams that are expected to show interest in him this offseason.
Along with Schroder, the Lakers could also be dealing with Montrezl Harrell becoming a free agent seeing as he has a $9.7M player option for the 2021-22 season. Harrell saw his role decline greatly over the course of the season and into the playoffs with the Lakers, which is why he could look to opt out of his contract and look at other potential destinations for more playing time. The Hornets, Kings, Wizards and Raptors are a few of the teams that could express interest in the former Sixth-Man of the Year this offseason.
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Talen Horton-Tucker is set to become a restricted free agent this offseason and both Alex Caruso and Andre Drummond will be unrestricted free agents that will be able to sign anywhere they would like. Out of all three of these players, sources tell NBA Analysis Network that the Lakers would prefer to bring back Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker and then Andre Drummond in that order should they be able to choose.
Over the years, Caruso has carved out a key role in the Lakers system as a result of him being a great and “pesty” on-ball defender. Caruso’s value on the open-market will likely be vast, as plenty of teams will show interest in the 27-year-old guard. The same can be said about Talen Horton-Tucker, who is already drawing interest from the Bulls and Cavaliers.
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With a ton of players becoming free agents on their roster this offseason, the Lakers will have to “pick and choose” who they want to try and retain because bringing back everybody will likely be impossible. Not to mention, Los Angeles will be targeting some other big name players that will be free agents in efforts to try and add more talent to their championship-caliber roster with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Kyle Lowry is a free agent this offseason and could be a potential sign-and-trade candidate for the Lakers, as they were interested in him at the trade deadline this past year.
Whatever the Lakers decide to do in terms of roster construction in free agency, we should expect them to bring back a handful of the players from their roster this past season. Figuring out the future of Dennis Schroder though will likely be near the front of the Lakers’ “to-do” list though as his new contract would likely tie them up financially in terms of bringing back any of their other free agents.
