Top 5 Free Agent Point Guards For The Lakers This Summer

We're looking ahead because... well, you know.

Your Los Angeles Lakers' point guard rotation in the playoffs has, to date, not been great against the Memphis Grizzlies' one-two punch of J Morant and backup Tyus Jones. LA leads the series 3-2, but that's more a credit to other players than it is to D'Angelo Russell or Dennis Schröder. Granted, Russell has hit some clutch buckets, but overall has been a disappointment in the series so far.

Honestly, Jones would probably make for better starter than LA's current vintage, D'Angelo Russell, who's earning $31.3 million this season to average 13.8 points on .368/.324/.889 shooting splits, 6.2 assists (against 2.0 turnovers), 4.0 rebounds, and 0.6 steals across five games in the playoffs thus far.

Schröder has been absolutely horrible in the playoffs, despite having turned in a terrific play-in performance to help LA sow up the seventh seed and this Memphis Grizzlies first round matchup. For the Grizzlies series, he's averaging 5.2 points on .381/.250/1.000 shooting splits, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals across 21.8 minutes. His defense has been the main reason he's getting this much run.

Russell and Schröder will both be unrestricted free agents this summer. Neither is making a particularly compelling case for their retention in this series, though they played really well during the regular season. 

There are a variety of free agent point guards hitting the market this summer. Below, I'm going to take you through the five most interesting fits, at least in my opinion. These are not necessarily the five "best" free agent point/combo guards on the market (I'll discuss the omissions later), but they might be the best fits for the Lakers.

5. D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers

LA's incumbent starter has never been a great playoff performer, but opposing teams have to respect his floor-spacing, and he does occasionally nail a big jumper.

Despite a disappointing playoff run this season for the Lakers, Russell has remained a solid passer and has the size to be an above-average rebounder for his position, making him a decent off-ball option for the Lakers. The big issues with him are that he underperforms in the playoffs, and will probably demand more money than (a) he's really worth and (b) than most of these other options would require, which would clog up the team's cap.

4. Gabe Vincent, Miami Heat

Vincent is earning himself a mint with his terrific play in the Heat's postseason thus far. He's a big-time shotmaker who's not afraid of the moment, if a bit limited as a playmaker. He'd by far be the cheapest addition on here, and could probably be had for something in the midlevel exception range (projected to be around $11-12 million). This would enable the Lakers to potentially earmark enough resources to address some of the other big issues on their roster -- namely, upgrades for Malik Beasley and their backup center position.

In LA's first round series, playing with much less usage than Russell, Vincent is averaging a similar 13.0 points, 5.0 assists, 1.0 rebounds and 0.6 steals per. Unlike, Russell, however, Vincent is actually converting his shots. He's making 42.4% of his 11.8 field goal attempts a night, including an identical 42.4% of his 6.6 triple tries. He's barely shooting free throws, so we can disregard his awful percentages there. D-Lo, meanwhile is making the aforementioned 36.8% from the floor on 13.6 field goal tries, and that 32.4% three-point rate is coming on a similar 6.8 triples.

Gabe Vincent has just emerged as a much more clutch guy who can function as more of a complimentary guard to a lead ball-handling wing, which is exactly what LA needs.

I mean seriously, do you think D'Angelo Russell could actually be counted on to execute this inbounds pass?

3. Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz

Clarkson, who was drafted by the Lakers under a prior regime, has a $14.3 million player option for the 2023-24 season on his current deal. He's really an off-guard scorer more than he is a traditional point guard, but he has more of a handle than your typical two. Consider how ball-dominant LeBron James teams need to be, the 30-year-old vet could be an excellent addition to LA at a reasonable contract in the $15-18 million range.

2. James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers

Yes, he always chokes in big moments and yes, LA might have to overpay, but there's no question that a motivated Harden, even at age 33, has the highest ceiling of any free agent point guard on the market this summer (that includes a certain one-time Brooklyn Nets teammate of Harden's).

1. Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors

The Raptors point guard is a weirdly stout two-way player, a one-time All-Star with a proven playoff pedigree who, while a bit undersized, is never afraid of the moment. He could probably be had for something around his current four-year, $85 million deal, which would make him cheaper than at least Harden and perhaps Russell.

There's also another option from among the Lakers' own impending free agents: current starting shooting guard Austin Reaves. Making Reaves the official point guard would probably still mean James functions as the team's de facto primary playmaker, but Reaves is much better off the ball than Russell, and is a significantly better rebounder, with perhaps some untapped upside.

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