Kobe Bryant is out for the rest of the season (again), the team is floundering with project players and reclamation projects, and nobody seems to know that the future holds.
However, according to ownership, they won't be shy about pursuing meaningful free agents to expedite the rebuild.
“The pitch is we can go for two max players,” said Jim Buss recently per Ramona Shelburne for ESPN The Magazine. “And we have room to solidify the team with others.”
How that intersects with realistic fits is open to interpretation. There is a finite pool of top talent, and every team with big expectations is zeroing in on elite candidates.
The effort to persuade free agents to don purple and gold won’t only rest on management’s shoulders, however.
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times recently tweeted that according to a source: “Kobe (Bryant) will also be active in free-agent recruiting for the Lakers, including pitches to possible future teammates in July.”
This is by no means a definitive list of all the quality free agents out there. But these are the players who can make meaningful contributions to a team whose current standing is 13-36.
*All stats from ESPN or Basketball-Reference unless otherwise noted.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
