Lakers News: Possible LA Free Agent Still Working Out In LA Practice Facility

Could he return to the Lakers?

The Lakers have questions to answer this offseason when it comes to their free agents. It's unknown at this time what they will go or the direction the team will take. But they do have to make some decisions sooner than others. For example, Los Angeles has until June 29 to request waivers on center Mo Bamba otherwise his $10.3 million contract for next season becomes guaranteed.

Amid this pending decision, Bamba was seen working out at the Lakers team facility. However, this is a normal occurrence for players as the summer approaches. 

Mo Bamba was at the facility going through an individual workout led by Lakers assistant coach Schuyler Rimmer. LAL has until June 29 to request waivers on Bamba or his $10.3 million contract for next season becomes guaranteed pic.twitter.com/BfK3Uwisrl

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 13, 2023

Bamba was acquired at the trade deadline this past season from the Orlando Magic and unfortunately didn't suit up for LA much due to injuries. In the limited time that he did see with the purple and gold, Bamba averaged just 3.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. It was a disappointing showing for him and leaves his future with the team in doubt.

Now, there are pros and cons to either keeping Bamba or letting him walk. One of the pros is that the team can use his $10.3 million contract as part of trade talks if it becomes guaranteed. This could give them some nice salary matching options and Bamba will be an expiring contract, which could be enticing for some teams.

The biggest con could be that nobody trades for him and you now are paying $10.3 million to a player that you don't really want. Bamba is a decent defender and a big who can shoot the three but he has been majorly inconsistent over his career and showed nothing to change that this past season.

Los Angeles will need to make the decision on the young center soon and it could cause some ramifications to the rest of the roster building plan. It'll be fascinating to see what LA does and how they go about building a championship roster this summer.

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