Lakers News: LA Misses Out On Defensive-Oriented Free Agent Guard

Is LA's roster-building set ahead of the 2023-24 season?

Your Los Angeles Lakers missed out on signing probably the best free agent wing defender who had been available at this late stage of the 2023 offseason.

But worse than that, this young swingman inked a new contract with LA's single least-liked rival franchise.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, former Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Lamar Stevens is joining the post-Marcus Smart Boston Celtics. The 6'6" forward will hopefully be able to add an extra defensive dimension along the perimeter for a perennial Eastern Conference playoff contender.

Earlier this summer, the Cavaliers flipped Stevens to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the three-team deal that landed ex-Miami Heat starting shooting guard Max Strus in Cleveland. In what was the antithesis of a ringing endorsement for his upside, San Antonio later released him before his 2023-24 $1.9 million contract could become fully guaranteed.

Across 62 games (25 starts) in 2022-23, Stevens averaged 5.3 points on .448/.316/.702 shooting splits, 3.3 boards, and 0.5 dimes in 18.1 minutes per. He was a solid contributor on a 51-31 Cavs club that snagged the East's fourth seed last year, but his shooting issues prevented him from carving out a bigger role during any of his first three NBA seasons. He won't have to do too much as a Boston bench defender, which could be an ideal role for him moving forward.

Exact terms of the Penn State product's new agreement have yet to be revealed, though given his somewhat limited market, it seems likely Boston had to pay anything more than a fully-guaranteed veteran's minimum deal (if that). 

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