Lakers News: Top 5 Minimum-Salary Free Agent Guard Prospects for LA

The Los Angeles Lakers will have an intriguing offseason ahead of them.

L.A.'s biggest free agent issues are of course in-house, as they await the player option decisions of All-NBA combo forward LeBron James (who has a $51.4 million option for 2024-25) and starting point guard D'Angelo Russell (who has an $18.7 million option).

The team, which has major cap issues, needs to make some tactical minimum contract signings this summer to bolster its bench. Here are five intriguing free agent guards worth considering for the Purple and Gold this summer.

5. Josh Richardson, Shooting Guard

Richardson is the kind of player who profiles as being much better than he actually is. Ostensibly a 3-and-D swingman who can occasionally even defend point guards, he felt a bit of a rotational squeeze during his return season to the Miami Heat. His versatility makes him an intriguing fit for Los Angeles, but his journeyman nature should at least give the Purple and Gold pause before commiting.

4. Monte Morris, Combo Guard

Morris is an excellent point-of-attack defender, but was buried on the Minnesota Timberwolves' depth chart this season. There's no shame in that, given how absolutely stacked the club was at guard. Morris would really help bolster the Lakers' defense off the bench, while being able to nail the occasional triple off the catch.

3. Alec Burks, Shooting Guard

Burks is another vet who fell out of his team's rotation eventually, but as soon as he was reinserted he became a critical reserve scorer to help (temporarily) keep the New York Knicks alive during their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Indiana Pacers, which they eventually did lose in seven games. He's a pretty multifaceted shooter, although not much of a defender.

2. Josh Okogie, Shooting Guard

Okogie is an intriguing two-way piece. Though at 6-foot-4 he's a bit undersized for a two, he lacks the playmaking necessary for a point.

1. De'Anthony Melton, Shooting Guard

Melton may get a better offer than a veteran's minimum, given that he was a starting shooting guard for an impressive Philadelphia 76ers team this season before an injury derailed the second half of his 2023-24 season. But that injury, and his slow recovery, could also cool his market. If the Lakers can snag him for a minimum (or, heck, an exception), he's definitely worth a gander.

However the team proceeds, it's clear that changes must be made on the fringes of its roster-building. Time will tell how that pays off.

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