With the offseason starting up, the Los Angeles Lakers should be busy in the free-agent market. One priority is going to be to find a backup pointing who can shoot. Darren Collison was a guy who was linked to the Lakers quite a bit last season.
They clearly wanted him to come out of retirement and join the team but he decided to stay put. However, he did leave the door open for a potential return this year. The Lakers would probably still like to have his over 40% 3-point shooting over the last four seasons on the roster. Unfortunately, Lakers insider for The Athletic Bill Oram doesn’t think it’s going to happen:
I think that ship has sailed. If he wanted to unretire wouldn’t he have done it in February. That said, if he does decide to play, the Lakers have done some of the legwork to establish a relationship.
It’s hard to know exactly what’s going on in Collison’s head but it’s sounding like he’s happy staying retired. A lot could change but the Lakers shouldn’t get their hopes up.
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Collison Has Said He’d Like to Play With LeBron James
Now, if Collison should decide that he wants to return, the Lakers have to be the favorites to sign him. He even said back in August that LeBron James is the one player he’d want to play with the most. Well, LeBron isn’t leaving Los Angeles anytime soon so if Collison wants to play with him, it’s going to be with the Lakers.
Should the team lose Rajon Rondo in free agency, the need for a player like Collison becomes even greater. LeBron put out an amazing effort last season but the Lakers can’t rely on him that much again. They need to find him a capable backup that can effectively run the offense when he’s off the court. The Lakers were over-reliant on the superstar this year but he’s going to be 36 when the next season starts. The team needs to preserve him for the playoffs but that’s going to be hard if they need LeBron to put out a strong effort every game.
Lakers Could Try to Groom Rookie PG
If the Lakers strike out and can’t find an adequate backup point guard in free agency, they could rely on a rookie. Recent reports have suggested that the team is looking to address the positing in the upcoming draft. One name to keep an eye on is Tyrell Terry out of Stanford. He’s a strong 3-point shooter but does need more work as a distributor.
The Lakers aren’t likely to put too much pressure on a potential rookie but rookies can come into the NBA and be impact players quickly. Los Angeles just played the Miami Heat in the Finals and they had two impact rookies in Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn. Rookies can be effective if you find the right ones and the Lakers could use some more youth.
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Insiders Weighs in on if Lakers Could Add Recently Retired Guard