Lakers Rumors: LA Expected to Pursue Clippers Swingman in Free Agency
One of the many things the Lakers sorely lacked last year was veteran swingman willing to play defense. They had plenty of veterans this past season, just not many that cared about playing defense. Armed with just the taxpayer mid-level exception ($6.4M) and veteran minimum contract offers, the Lakers will have to spend wisely.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that one player the Lakers might consider signing is 33-year-old wing Nicolas Batum.
"It is anticipated that the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz will have strong interest in trying to pry away the 14-year veteran from Clipper Land, sources said."
Batum played for the Clippers the last two years and Haynes states that LA's other basketball team is in "the driver's seat" to retain Batum in free agency.
Over the last two seasons, Batum shot 40.2% from three on 4.3 attempts per game.
He's not the player that he used to be, but he's the exact archetype of player that the Lakers need to add to their roster this summer.
