The Los Angeles Lakers won’t have much salary cap wiggle room to be serious movers and shakers in NBA free agency this summer, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try and target impact players with the funds they do have available.
Last season was a big step forward for the Los Angeles Lakers and their pursuits for another championship. After missing the playoffs last season, the team rebounded from an awful start and became a premiere defensive team in the NBA. They rode that defense and superstars Lebron James and Anthony Davis to a surprise birth in the Western Conference Finals.
Related: Top 2023 NBA free agents – Best 100 available with positional breakdowns
While the team is far more of a contender now than they were at this point last season, they have some notable limitations in terms of adding to the roster. Furthermore, the primary goal this summer will be to make sure they don’t lose restricted free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
Nevertheless, the team is keeping their options open and making a pair of moves on Thursday to give them a little salary cap flexibility. The Los Angeles Lakers waived center Mo Bamba and declined Malik Beasley’s option. The pair of moves will now take them under the salary tax threshold and make them eligible to use the valuable $12.4 million mid-level exception.
Los Angeles Lakers are now eligible for $12.4 million MLE
Well, it seems like a couple of players in mind to use the exception on, and it includes a former member of the organization that helped a rival team win a championship a few years after leaving.
On Thursday, ESPN’s NBA reporter Dave McMenamin revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers are interested in using that $12.4 million either Denver Nuggets reserve star Bruce Brown Jr. or Milwaukee Bucks starting center Brook Lopez.
- Brook Lopez stats (’22-’23): 15.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.3 APG, 37% 3PT
Lopez played 74 games for LA in 2017-2018 before taking his talents to the Milwaukee Bucks for the next five seasons and becoming a key part of one of the premiere powerhouses in the NBA. The Bucks reportedly feel confident about re-signing the one-time All-Star, and it is unclear if he would be at all willing to take the MLE after earning nearly $14 million last season.