Lakers News: LA Could Be Eyeing Current Finals Starter In Free Agency

How would he fit in Los Angeles?

Your Los Angeles Lakers have a variety of offseason decisions to make about their personnel. 

Only four players have guaranteed deals with LA next season, and one of those four has very publicly hinted that he's pondering post-basketball life this summer. The Lakers have two restricted free agents, shooting guard Austin Reaves and power forward Rui Hachimura, whom they seem more likely than not to keep, not matter the price.

Beyond those two 25-year-olds, it's a bit more unclear how the Lakers intend to operate in free agency. Point guards D'Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder are both unrestricted free agents, as are wings Lonnie Walker IV and Troy Brown Jr. Reserve power forward/center Wenyen Gabriel will also be an unrestricted free agent. Finally, Los Angeles has player options on the contracts of reserves Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba, both of whom were squeezed out of the team's playoff rotation.

LA may look for some shooting help on the perimeter this summer, after Beasley and Walker proved to be solid but somewhat inconsistent in 2022-23.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that Miami Heat starting shooting guard Max Strus, an unrestricted free agent this summer, could be a realistic free agent candidate LA might consider inking to a mid-level contract. 

Strus is currently starting for an unlikely Finals club in the eighth-seeded. Across these playoffs, the 6'5" DePaul product has been averaging 9.8 points on .423/.330/.810 shooting splits, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.8 rebounds a night.

Depending on how the Lakers go about signing their own incumbent free agents, the club might be able to ink Strus to a deal at the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, projected by Buha to be around $12.2 million, or perhaps the taxpayers' room exception, estimated to be worth $5 million.

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