NBA Rumors: Lakers Remain Plausible Destination For Veterans Content With Minimum Deal

Given that the Los Angeles Lakers don’t have the luxury of having extra cash, there will be some players leaving.

Among the names mentioned include Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope are two players that may interest other teams if the Lakers are targeting a superstar.

The names of Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Kyle Lowry have been mentioned, stars that are not cheap to get.

Assuming that a deal does get done, this means the Lakers will need to fill up the void if they end up giving up some of their supporting cast.

Given they don’t have much financial flexibility, the Lakers may have no other choice but to take in players willing to settle for minimum deals.

This covers not only less-heralded players. The free-agent market has a lot of veterans who would love to get that chance to play NBA ball once more.

If the Lakers come knocking, they are bound to agree to it and maybe win an NBA ring in the process.

This was the take of Jake Fischer of the Bleacher Report when he spoke on the Laker Central Podcast.

Fischer believes that a lot of veteran players would love to join Los Angeles and get the chance to win a ring alongside LeBron James.

Adding a veteran or two makes sense. However, it is also a short-term solution for the "Purple and Gold."

One-year deals are seen more as fillers for the Lakers to be able to put up a team for the coming season.

But even with veterans in the mix, there is no assurance that the powerhouse Lakers can win it all. The reality is that teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns have come into their own.

Aside from the Suns, other teams have gotten stronger–using young and talented players–in the Western Conference. That list includes the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets.

The Golden State Warriors are expected to bounce back as well, raising questions if adding veterans would be the answer to head coach Frank Vogel’s woes.

One veteran who was mentioned recently is Carmelo Anthony. With the Blazers unlikely to bring him back, he could be one of those veterans amenable to a short-term deal.

Considering he is also friends with James, a move for Anthony may depend on which superstar the Lakers would bring in.

Paul is a possibility, meaning the Lakers could have the banana boat gang in Hollywood.