Getty DeMarcus Cousins walks across the court during week seven of the BIG3 three on three basketball league.
In the wake of the news surrounding DeMarcus Cousins, his future with the Los Angeles Lakers is in question. While the team likely planned to hold onto him after his ACL injury as a sign of good faith, his recent off-court developments could offer the Lakers an out and push them to officially cut ties with the injured big man.
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Lakers Free Agency: Top 3 Targets if DeMarcus Cousins Cut
1. Marreese Speights
While Joakim Noah & Dwight Howard are probably better rebounders they definitely can’t spread the floor like @Mospeights16.
Despite playing last season in China and not being close to the physical specimen that Dwight Howard is, rumors are the Lakers were extremely impressed with his shooting ability during his workout. Speights could offer a bit of an insurance policy capable of playing either power forward or center to come off the end of the bench or simply provide the offense with a different look should they occasionally stall out.
Speights averaged 22.7 points per game in China last season and knocked down the deep ball at a very respectable 35.7%. While he isn’t the most dominant rebounder or defender for a big man, Speights is extremely comfortable and confident in his shot – giving him somewhat of a unique skill set at the position.
NBA analyst Ohm Youngmisuk mentioned that the Lakers are big on Speights possibly playing for the purple and gold so keep an eye on him should the Lakers wind up officially cutting ties with Cousins in the near future.
2. Carmelo Anthony
I’m tired of this… PUT CARMELO BACK IN THE LEAGUE 🤬 @carmeloanthony (via @Cbrickley603)
Lakers fans have long been clamoring for the team to give Carmelo Anthony a shot and reunite former Team USA running mates Anthony and LeBron James. While Carmelo isn’t the explosive scorer he was in his younger days, he’s still an extremely effective scorer at all three levels who seems willing to take a major role reduction in order to get himself back out on the court.
The Lakers are currently somewhat thin regarding their depth at forward after Kyle Kuzma and the addition of a walking bucket off the bench could help make the Lakers second unit one of the most dangerous offensively in the league. While Melo offers a bit of a question mark and hasn’t logged serious minutes in nearly two years, the praise he receives around the league indicates that the sport’s best feel he can still compete at a high level.
3. Joakim Noah
Another player the Lakers took a look at before bringing in Dwight Howard, Noah – similar to Speights – offers somewhat of an insurance policy should Dwight 2.0 not go as planned. While Noah doesn’t offer much upside, he does offer a reliable option that will defend well and with energy while willingly sharing the ball on offense. Noah is extremely limited on the offensive side of the ball but his quality defense makes him at least a playable option.
After his renaissance year in Memphis last year, it looks like the Lakers could do much worse than bringing on board the ageing veteran to provide depth to a position very much in question.
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