The Lakers are facing a conundrum at point guard with Dennis Schroder.
Re-signing him could be expensive. But if he leaves, the Lakers would be limited to the mid-level exception for signing a replacement.
Could the Lakers come out of this tough situation with the Suns’ Chris Paul or Wizards’ Russell Westbrook?
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:
Acquiring Paul would likely require a trade – either a sign-and-trade in the likely event he opts out or a standard trade if he’d opt in. A sign-and-trade would hard cap the Lakers, so it’d be easier if he were willing to opt in. Paul did that type of arrangement to get from the Clippers to the Rockets.
But Paul chose not to join the Lakers last offseason. Especially after leading the Suns to the Finals, it seems likely he’ll stay in Phoenix.
Westbrook could be more available – especially if the Wizards pivot into rebuilding. In that event they’d probably welcome unloading the 32-year-old due $91,274,624 over the next two seasons.
How badly would the Lakers want him, though? Spacing on a team with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook would be substandard. As talented as Westbrook is, there would be significant diminishing returns adding him to LeBron and Davis. And that’s not even getting into how Westbrook will age.
Plus, Talen Horton-Tucker will also be a restricted free agent. Getting both Schroder and Horton-Tucker to agree to a sign-and-trade would be complicated.
So, don’t count on either Paul or Westbrook landing in Los Angeles.
But with big names involved, the Lakers are at least circling.