Lakers Need to Pivot to This Sharpshooting Free Agent with Klay Thompson Gone

This unrestricted free agent remains very available.

Apr 16, 2023; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard (10) and forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Malik Beasley (5) battle for a rebound during the second halfduring game one of the 2023 NBA playoffs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

It's time for the Los Angeles Lakers to make moves. The Purple and Gold have been fairly dormant in free agency thus far. The Lakers have merely re-signed restricted free agent shooting guard Max Christie and the league's oldest player, 39-year-old All-Star combo forward LeBron James, while letting veterans Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie walk — to the Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks, respectively.

L.A. made a bid for ex-Golden State Warriors shooting guard/small forward Klay Thompson. The five-time All-Star and four-time league champ instead inked a three-year, $50 million to join All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving (and Dinwiddie) in Dallas. The team had been rumored to be at least in the mix for Chicago Bulls All-Star swingman DeMar DeRozan, a Compton native, but he ultimately latched on with All-Stars De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and former Lakers head coach Mike Brown on the Sacramento Kings.

The Lakers currently have all 15 of their standard roster spots occupied, so team president Rob Pelinka would need to get a bit creative with a trade or two, but he needs to carve out space.

And we've got just the fit in mind.

Yes, L.A. whiffed on Thompson's floor-spacing, but there's another elite long range sniper who's very much still available: Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Luke Kennard, coming off a four-year, $56 million deal. Last year, the 6-foot-5 ex-Dukie connecting on 45 percent of his 6.1 triple tries a night. All told, he posted averages of 11.0 points on .448/.450/.889 shooting splits, 3.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 steals a night.

It would be an uphill battle for Los Angeles to bring Kennard aboard, as Memphis appears to be making significant transactions to keep him around. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Memphis shipped out former lottery pick Ziaire Williams's $6.13 million contract and his rookie-scale deal plus a 2030 second rounder to the Brooklyn Nets (in exchange for power forward/center Mamadi Diakite and the draft rights to guard Nemanja Dangubic) in a bid to carve out cap space to re-sign Kennard.

Los Angeles will be $10 million below the NBA's luxury tax line and $14 million before the league's punitive first apron, per Bobby Marks of ESPN.

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