Lakers News: Ranking The Top 5 Finals Free Agents For Los Angeles To Consider

Last week, the NBA playoffs ended in rather quiet fashion, as Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the rest of their Denver Nuggets put the finishing touches on their "gentlemen's sweep" (a five-game series victory) over the upstart Miami Heat. A postseason full of upsets ended with the likeliest scenario ever in its final round.

With free agency right around the corner, it's time for Los Angeles Lakers fans to ask themselves an age-old question: which players from the NBA Finals can our team poach for themselves this summer?

Let's unpack the five most intriguing fits.

5. Jeff Green, Denver Nuggets

Green, a 16-year NBA journeyman vet, finally won his ring as a legitimate rotation player for a lethal Nuggets club. The versatile power forward, who played alongside current Lakers All-Star LeBron James on the 2018 NBA Finals-bound Cleveland Cavaliers, often spelled All-NBA center Nikola Jokic as a backup five during Denver's championship run, and remains surprisingly athletic well into his NBA dotage.

Though his counting stats in the playoffs are nothing to write home about (4.1 points on 45.2% shooting, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists), he played 17.2 minutes per game, emerging as a meaningful contributor for the best team in the NBA. He was effectively the team's seventh man, in terms of playing time.

Why would Green, who's openly said he hopes to play for two more years before calling it a career, leave the Nuggets?

The green, of course!

At this juncture in his career, I think maximally on the open market in a light free agent class, he's looking at a $4.4 million bi-annual exception this summer. For a cap-challenged club like the Nuggets who also have to worry about Bruce Brown's fate, Denver may underbid a bit. The Lakers would need to swoop in and pay near the top of his value. Though he can't shoot, his versatile defense and veteran savvy, not to mention his locker room leadership, make him an appealing reserve option if the price is right.

4. Kevin Love, Miami Heat

After falling out of the Cleveland Cavaliers' rotation entirely, the UCLA product revamped his free agent value thanks to a stellar run to the NBA Finals with the Heat. There were instances where Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra opted for a small-ball approach, benching love completely in favor of Caleb Martin, for instance. But by Game 2 of the Finals, Love had once again become the club's permanent starting four on a minimum deal.

The 34-year-old is most likely another bi-annual exception option. As a floor-spacing big with still the single-most lethal outlet passes in the league, K-Love would be a nice low-cost supplement to the Lakers' frontcourt, though he'd probably cut into the minutes and development of younger, more athletic players at the position like Rui Hachimura (assuming he returns) and Jarred Vanderbilt (who lacks much of an offensive game).

Love might see a reunion with his former Cleveland Cavaliers running mate LeBron James as a nice way to conclude his career, though it's possible he could command more money than the Lakers would be willing to offer after serving as a starter for an NBA Finals team.

3. Max Strus, Miami Heat

After graduating from life as an undrafted DePaul prospect in 2019 into a starter on a Finals club in 2023, Strus is looking to get paid this summer. He made a career-high $1.8 million this past season, and is looking to at least triple that sum annually this summer.

The 6'5" swingman had some huge moments in the playoffs as a jump shooter off the catch, and is a solid defender.

Across 23 playoff contests this year, Strus averaged 9.3 points on a somewhat underwhelming .402/.319/.800 shooting splits, less than sparkling numbers, perhaps, but consider that he notched a far better .410/.350/.876 slash line across 80 regular season contests, and that 35% three-point shooting number came on a robust 7.0 triple tries per night.

Still just 27 years old, Strus has proven he can be a productive role player on a Finals team. He wouldn't get a starting shooting guard gig over Austin Reaves per se, given that Reaves is a better shooter and playmaker, but Strus could potentially be slotted into LA's starting small forward gig, with James perhaps being moved to power forward. As a free agent this summer, Strus seems likely to fetch a deal in the range of the standard mid-level exception, estimated to be worth between $11-12 million annually next year.

2. Bruce Brown, Denver Nuggets

Brown, a do-everything utility sixth man for Denver, who could function as the roll man in pick-and-roll actions despite being all of 6'4" and as an occasional jump shooter and high-IQ passer, would have to take a significant discount off his anticipated free agent value this summer if he wants to remain with the champs next season.

In 26.5 minutes a night, the University of Miami alum averaged 12 points on .511/.316/.857 shooting splits, 4.0 boards, 1.9 dimes, 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks. As the NBA Finals continued and Michael Porter Jr.'s jumper began to abandon him, the shorter Brown began supplanting MPJ down the late stretches of games, thanks primarily to his defensive acumen and steady play.

The 26-year-old has alluded to an interest in sticking around Denver for its title defense in 2023-24, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Assuming he opts out of his $6.8 million player option for next season, the Nuggets only possess his Non-Bird Rights (meaning they can ink him to a 20% raise of his $6.5 million 2022-23 salary), and thus can only sign him to a deal worth about $7.8 million a year. He could handily earn double that amount on the open market. Assuming the Lakers retain their two restricted free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the team could maximally ink him to its full mid-level exception.

1. Gabe Vincent, Miami Heat

It feels like Brown, thanks in large part to his defensive versatility, came off as being perhaps the signature signing steal among the two teams in the Finals, and was likely to have the most robust market in free agency. But Gabe Vincent, a chippy two-way point guard LA snagged after his two-season stint with the Sacramento Kings' G League affiliate in Stockton, also seems destined to earn a massive raise once the calendar switches over to July.

Vincent will be quite pricey. Will he earn quite as much coin as Bruce Brown could? Perhaps, given the relatively thin market of free agent point guards this summer. Beyond James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Fred VanVleet, Vincent and the Lakers' own D'Angelo Russell and Dennis Schröder seem to number among the next-best prospects. It only takes one team to drive up the market price for a free agent, and it seems like Vincent could cost teams anywhere from $10-15 million a year.

Given how much money the Lakers will most likely have to spend to keep restricted free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, a double-sign-and-trade for Vincent's services that also requires some buy-in from Russell might be the best way to snag the Heat's lead guard. Across 23 playoff contests this spring, the 27-year-old averaged a career playoff-bests of 12.7 points on a slash line of .402/.378/.882, plus 3.5 dimes, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per.

When the (ahem) heat was on, Vincent shone bright. Outside of a scattered few games in these playoffs, D-Lo largely underperformed. Vincent might be (a) cheaper and (b) better, if the Lakers can play their cards right.

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