Deals for Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng seem excessive until you realize how high the salary cap has jumped. Although neither player is Kevin Durant, each will have a positive impact on next year's team.
The team also recently acquired Jose Calderon as a backup point guard, per Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, reportedly leaving about $10 million in the salary cap.
This doesn't leave a whole lot of room to make major moves, but the team could be eyeing a few deals to complete the roster before the start of next season.
Before anything gets done, perhaps the biggest question is what happens with Nick Young. As Bresnahan reported, the guard "has two more years on his contract totaling $11 million, but it will be a surprise if he’s not traded or waived before training camp."
Swaggy P averaged only 7.3 points per game last season and has pretty much lost his value on this team. He also almost blew off his hand last week, so he might not be missed.
Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders explains what the team could gain in cap space:
That would provide a little more breathing room and possibly enable the team to go after some more free agents.
One player the squad could target is Maurice Harkless, who has shown a lot of potential at just 23 years old. The Portland Trail Blazers player is a restricted free agent, but the Lakers have apparent interest, per Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders:
While this was before Los Angeles added Deng, the team could still use a younger wing who is willing to play defense. It might take some playing time away from Brandon Ingram, but there will be plenty of minutes to go around next season.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reported the Lakers as one of five teams ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
