Lakers News: 5 Free Agents LA Can Still Add With Open Roster Spot
With five games left in their 2022-23 regular season run, your 39-38 Los Angeles Lakers still have an opening available to them on their 15-man standard roster.
As a taxpaying team, a LA would owe a 15th man $10,552 a day, per Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors. Finances may be a concern for the Lakers, who, beyond a Wenyen Gabriel upgrade or a little more perimeter defense, probably feel that their roster is close to set with the playoffs in sight.
The team could sign a top G League prospect or perhaps one of its own two-way players, Scotty Pippen Jr. or Cole Swider, into a standard spot to have them available for the postseason.
Ex-Laker Stanley Johnson, a 6'6" combo forward, would be a great pickup for LA if the team was able to actually add him this year. Unfortunately, due to CBA restrictions, it can't sign him until this summer, so he's not going to make the cut.
All that said, here are five still-available vets LA could add:
5. Tony Snell
The 6'7" vet swingman has all the outlines of a solid 3-and-D player, but he's never quite pieced everything together. The journeyman small forward, 31, boasts a solid career average of 39.4% three-point shooting on 3.1 attempts.
4. Carmelo Anthony
LA specifically needs a little point-of-attack defensive help on the perimeter, but also a little more frontcourt offense. The 39-year-old Anthony, who last played in the NBA for LA in 2021-22, remains a high-level shooter, and at this stage in his career would just be happy to still be rostered.
3. Elfrid Payton
Payton was the starting point guard for a playoff-bound 2020-21 New York Knicks team! To be fair, that was insane, he should never have started. But Tom Thibodeau liked Payton's size and defense, which endeared him enough to the Phoenix Suns that last year's 64-win club gave him a shot as a reserve. His numbers cratered, and he hasn't found a home yet this year. The 6'3" vet, still just 28, could have some juice yet, and be worth a look as a 15th man on a playoff team.
2. Alize Johnson
A springy-if-mildly-undersized (6'7") power forward, Johnson is a bit Gabriel-esque, but would just be another big body who can the break a bit better.
1. Nerlens Noel
Noel would represent a clear Gabriel upgrade, as a terrific rim defender with more size who can do a little post damage on the other end. I'm not sure why a seemingly postseason-bound team in need of a little more protection down low, like the Chicago Bulls, hasn't picked him up yet.
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