The Los Angeles Lakers are still having to work out the gymnastics of their roster. With two areas in glaring need of help and the team’s fifth starter very much in question, the Lakers are tasked with having to figure out how to address some needs while trimming the roster.
For a while, it felt like the Lakers’ fifth starter situation would be handled by Jonathan Kuminga, the 23-year-old free agent forward who recently signed a deal with the rival Minnesota Timberwolves. That leaves the Lakers in a rock and a hard place.
L.A. could pivot to the trade market, but their limited tradeable assets will make pulling off any deal rather difficult. There are also some free agents to choose from, but none have registered on the Lakers’ radar outside of former Denver Nuggets swingman Bruce Brown.
Is Brown a Realistic Option for the Lakers?
Brown, 30, could bring defensive versatility and another efficient 3-point shooter to the Lakers roster. But right now, L.A. needs to shore up its frontcourt depth and, while Brown is capable of sliding to a bigger position, he is 6’4” and perhaps wouldn’t give the Lakers exactly what they need.
According to team reporter Jacob Rude, Brown doesn’t appear to be likely option for the Lakers.
“There is the chance that Brown starts the season not on a team with the hopes of signing during the season,” Rude wrote for Silver Screen and Roll. “In that case, perhaps the Lakers could make one or more moves that’d open up a roster spot. But that’d be months away. It’s not a surprise the Lakers have interest in Brown. But it remains a long shot that he’ll don the purple and gold this season.”
Outside of Brown potentially being unable to help address the Lakers’ major roster concerns, simply making room to sign the former NBA champion would be difficult.
“The Lakers would need to make a host of moves in the next four weeks before training camp to get to a point where signing Brown would even be feasible,” Rude wrote. “As things stand, they already need to consolidate the roster, whether by waiving someone or trading two players for one. To get to a point where they’d have an open roster spot, it’d be two players released to sign one or trading three players for one, which is basically a non-starter. You could combine the two options as well to get an open roster spot, but you’re starting to see how complicated it would be to get Brown on the roster.”
L.A. May Look Internally for Help
If the Lakers had open roster spots, perhaps a free agent signing or trade would be viewed as a viable option. But the team is already above the roster limit and has few tradeable assets to boot. That may very well be why the Lakers could make some cuts and turn to one of the signings from earlier in the offseason to address their needs.
Newcomers like Sandro Mamukelashvili or Ziaire Williams could stand out as prime candidates to start at power forward for L.A. Both are several inches taller than Brown and are more natural power forwards.
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