Getty Reggie Bullock, who the Lakers may look to bring back in free agency.
Heading into the 2019 offseason, the Lakers have a number of holes to address and a variety of ways they can go about plugging them. One option, lost among the shuffle of free agency rumors, is bringing back a man they traded for at the deadline last season. Reggie Bullock‘s strong play for Detroit made him an appealing piece to help try and push the Lakers over the edge and although slowing down a bit in LA, still has the tools to be a viable supporting member.
Lakers Free Agency Targets: Reggie Bullock Worth Another Look?
Despite offering fairly streaky shooting from deep during his brief stint with the Lakers, Reggie Bullock could potentially be a solid role player moving forward. Even though he struggled with the Lakers, Bullock emerged as a reliable three-point weapon on the Pistons and he only appeared in 19 games for the Lakers – an extremely small sample size.
Bullock was on a very team-friendly 2-year, $5 million contract and is likely looking for a bit of a raise. However, given his slip in production on the Lakers, teams might be unwilling to offer Bullock the years or dollars he is looking for. While the Lakers won’t have much money left over if the sign a max free agent, they could potentially bring Bullock back in on a short mid-level exception deal to see if he might be worth a longer-term investment.
The Lakers desperately need three-point shooting and versatile defenders, boxes that Bullock both checks when at his best. However, he was brought on board last season to knock down three-pointers and often struggled to get it done. While initially, he shot the cover off the ball in February, Bullock struggled mightily from deep in March as the Lakers caught the injury bug and went into free fall. For what it might be worth, it is promising that Bullock played his best basketball when all of the Lakers important pieces were in place around him.
The Verdict: Bullock wasn’t consistent enough to be a top priority for the Lakers as they head into free agency, however, he might be one of the better fits left on the board by the time they’re done chasing after a big name free agent. He was hit or miss for the Lakers last season but really only had one bad month in the grand scheme of things. If he’s still around when the Lakers are looking to fill out their roster, expect the two to be in touch.
Other Los Angeles Lakers Free Agent Targets
Aside from the big names like Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving that the Lakers have been linked to, they need to find a big man on the open market as well. Nikola Vucevic might not be on the open market long enough to stay the Lakers back up plan, thankfully, there are a ton of solid options at a much lower price point. JaVale McGee had a big year for the Lakers and looked to be a great fit on both sides of the basketball, however, he might have outplayed himself for the Lakers as he can most likely be expected to command a bit more than the minimum salary he played for last season.
Bringing back Brook Lopez is another potential option, though that might prove difficult seeing as the two had an awkward breakup last season. Lopez should be due for a fairly large pay raise and might be out of the Lakers price range if they bring in a max contract player as well.