Getty Torrey Craig guards Dillon Brooks
The Los Angeles Lakers have been urged to target a $15 million forward after their busy trade deadline.
In a February 16 column called “1 Free Agent Every NBA Team Should Be Targeting After the Trade Deadline,” Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale wrote that the Lakers should go after Torrey Craig this summer.
“Defensively capable wings who can hit open treys are on almost every team’s shopping list,” Favale wrote. “They are especially critical for the Lakers, who still don’t have an inarguable two-way wing on the roster. Torrey Craig hasn’t always met the two-way requirements. But he’s downing almost 40 percent of his threes this season while injecting his usual dose of under-the-radar offensive rebounding. And though he’s more suited to playing the Jae Crowder, bigger-and-slower-assignments-only role these days, he promises more defensive maneuverability than most of the Lakers’ incumbent non-bigs.”
Craig becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Phoenix Suns swingman is averaging 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists this season while shooting 45.8% from the field, 39.9% from beyond the arc and 73.0% from the free-throw line.
Lakers Most Likely Spending Range: Mini MLE
Favale believes the Lakers can sign Craig by using their mini MLE. Los Angeles will likely operate over the cap while holding on to D’Angelo Russell (unrestricted free agent), Jarred Vanderbilt (non-guaranteed contract), Malik Beasley (team option) and Rui Hachimura (restricted free agent).
“Others will disagree with the Los Angeles Lakers’ spending range,” Favale wrote. “They can conjure north of $30 million in cap space if they please. It will only cost them, er, basically everyone other than Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Max Christie and Austin Reaves (restricted). Never mind the relative shallowness of this free-agency class. Depth matters. Getting Kyrie Irving, on a pay cut, isn’t worth obliterating the top-middle, middle and bottom of your rotation. The Lakers are more likely to operate over the cap while holding on to D’Angelo Russell (unrestricted), Jarred Vanderbilt (non-guaranteed), Malik Beasley (team option) and, potentially, Rui Hachimura (restricted). That pulls them all the way back into mini-MLE territory. They could look to finagle their way to the $11.4 million MLE, but that will surely cost DLo, and frankly, the hard cap doesn’t suit a team paying a combined $87-plus million to AD and LeBron alone.”
The Lakers only have three players locked in for next season: LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Max Christie. However, Los Angeles is expected to bring back Russell, Vanderbilt, Beasley, Hachimura and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers Had a Good Trade Deadline
The Lakers had a good trade deadline, parting ways with Patrick Beverley, Russell Westbrook, Thomas Bryant, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones and acquiring Russell, Beasley, Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba and Davon Reed. There is once again optimism in Los Angeles.
“People within the organization are optimistic for two reasons — because of the clear on-court fits and because of the necessary off-court reset,” Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times wrote on February 14. “League insiders and people within the organization have given good reviews for the moves made by general manager Rob Pelinka, who not only improved the roster in the short term, but did so without sacrificing the team’s future flexibility because of the favorable contracts he acquired (in particular the team options on nonguaranteed deals for Beasley and Bamba). … Players on the team are optimistic about the moves, optimistic about the potential for actual continuity through the offseason, which is something the Lakers haven’t had in a meaningful way since LeBron James and Anthony Davis teamed up.”
The Lakers head into the All-Star break with a record of 27-32. They are in 13th place in the Westen Conference standings.