After pegging Julius Randle as their power forward of the future with the seventh pick in last year's draft, the Lakers will have a chance to anoint either Duke center Jahlil Okafor or Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns as the franchise's mainstay in the middle.
Assuming the team travels down one of those paths in the draft, the Purple and Gold will have a gaping hole at small forward. While Nick Young played 70 percent of his minutes at the 3 before suffering a small fracture in his left kneecap last season, he's better suited as a microwave scorer off the bench. And beyond Young, the Lakers don't have many other options on the wing. Wesley Johnson is about to become an unrestricted free agent, leaving Ryan Kelly as the de facto place-filler at small forward.
That's where Harris comes in.
The Lakers are entering this summer with a shade over $35 million in guarantees on their books. Now, that number can climb as high as $49.8 million should LA exercise Jordan Hill's $9 million team option and bring back players with smaller team options.
But either way, the team will have enough flexibility to add an impact player in free agency.
"Currently, the Lakers can afford to make some moves in free agency, but nothing major outside of signing one max player," LakersNation.com's Ryan Ward wrote.
The 22-year-old Harris—who just wrapped up his fourth pro season—fits the bill. That is, if the Orlando Magic aren't interested in retaining his services.
"There's a lot of things you have to look at in any type of free agency, but what I think what everybody's beginning to forget is that [I'll be] a restricte...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
