As Lakers coach Byron Scott recently said, the team is “probably going to have to look for" somebody to plug the point guard hole.
That’s a misstatement if ever there was one. The Lakers are currently relying on Jeremy Lin and journeyman Ronnie Price to do the heavy lifting, with rookie Jordan Clarkson getting backup minutes at both the point and shooting guard positions.
The Lakers have applied for injury exceptions for both Nash and rookie Julius Randle, who went down with a broken leg in his NBA debut. The exceptions would be worth up to $4.85 million for Nash and $1.5 million for Randle, and they cannot be combined.
But while the team’s need for added depth is clear, the available talent pool is extremely thin. That will change incrementally over the next two weeks, as Nov. 15 is the deadline by which teams must either exercise contract options on players with unguaranteed deals or cut bait.
There’s always the possibility of a trade as well. But with the season barely a week old, there simply aren’t a lot of players on the block.
For now, the inventory pool is primarily comprised of undrafted rookies, veterans at the end of the line and niche players who roam the fringes of professional basketball—hoping for that elusive NBA chance.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
