Los Angeles Lakers: 2 waived players who would be great signings
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers have wrapped up the preseason and the next time we see them in action it will be in a game that matters against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The Lakers went winless in the preseason, going 0-6, which is a cause for concern for some fans.
In reality, the Lakers are fine and there should be no panic about the preseason. These games mean nothing and the rotation you see in the preseason is ont what you are going to see in the regular season.
However, there is some cause for concern stemming from the preseason that does not have to do with the team’s record. The Lakers, who are already the oldest team in the league, got banged up in the preseason.
Trevor Ariza will be out eight weeks with an ankle surgery (he did not even play in the preseason) and Talen Horton-Tucker had surgery on his thumb. Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk and Wayne Ellington all got banged up as well but their injuries do not appear to be long-term.
For the time being, the Los Angeles Lakers could utilize the 15th roster spot.
The biggest advantage that the Los Angeles Lakers have is their depth and that advantage is taken away if the team is not healthy. The entire point of this depth is to take the miles off of the old roster and not put too many miles on the players too early.
The team does still have one more roster spot that is believed to be reserved for a midseason buyout, which will inevitably be an option. However, that does not mean the Lakers cannot use it now.
The Lakers can agree to a non-guaranteed contract, pay that player and the tax implications while he is helping the team and then eventually waive said player if they need space for a buyout signing.
If that player ends up being a quality rotation player then they keep him. It is that simple.
The Lakers also have an open two-way contract spot after waiving Joel Ayayi, so the team could go that route as well for depth.
There are more players now on the market that were vying for a spot on a roster in the preseason but ended up getting waived. Here are two solid options that LA could consider.