In free agency, the Los Angeles Lakers decided not to add a new player. They’ll come to regret that choice after seeing these three free agents in 2024.The Los Angeles Lakers’ fan base is dubious about the team’s will to get better because of the team’s commitment to this strategy. Los Angeles’ free agency approach has been somewhere between calm and patient, which has led to the wave of impact players that have gone past them.
In some ways, it’s a justified decision, although the Lakers could have afforded to acquire a couple players but eventually decided against it.
Los Angeles seems to be hoping that head coach JJ Redick can establish a closer connection with the players than Darvin Ham could, which would lead to better outcomes with comparable players. Even while it’s a fascinating prospect, the Lakers lost out on three impact players who could have fit within their budget.
Given how quickly the time is shrinking for 39-year-old LeBron James and Anthony Davis to win a second championship together, that is a tough fact to accept.
Although it’s impossible to erase the past, the Lakers will kick themselves when they realize how much these three players might have accomplished for them in 2024–2025.
1. Phoenix Suns center Tyus Jones
The Lakers’ decision to pass on point guard Tyus Jones during the 2024 summer was among their most perplexing mistakes. The 28-year-old shown what he could accomplish as a starter in 2023–24 and has long been hailed as the NBA’s greatest backup facilitator.
Sadly, the Lakers watched as Jones agreed to a one-year contract earning just $3,003,427—a sum Los Angeles could have afforded—with the rival Phoenix Suns.
Jones averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.6 made three-pointers per game at the end of the 2023–24 regular season. With a slash line of.489/.414/.800, he shot well and only committed one turnover a game.
Jones had by far the greatest assist-to-turnover ratio of any NBA qualifying player during the previous season, with 7.35.
Although Jones’s defensive consistency is a problem, the Lakers were in a position to conceal and eventually ignore it. Los Angeles is now shopping D’Angelo Russell in trade talks as they look to upgrade at point guard.
It may be terrible to not sign Jones to add depth at one of the roster’s smallest and most injury-prone positions if Russell is on his way out.
2. The Golden State Warriors’ Anthony Melton
When the Golden State Warriors signed De’Anthony Melton to a one-year, $12,822,000 contract, they undoubtedly made one of the top offseason acquisitions of 2024. That is undoubtedly a little bit over the Lakers’ general cap flexibility, but if the organization had developed the entire non-taxpayer MLE, it would have been feasible.
If Los Angeles had spent the same amount of money to sign Melton, they would have solved what may be their greatest on-court weakness: their perimeter defense.In a number of important statistical categories, Los Angeles concluded the 2023–24 NBA regular season in the lowest third of the league. This includes having the following rankings: No. 27 for opponent fast break points, No. 25 for opponent three-point field goal percentage, and No. 28 for opponent three-point field goals allowed.
Melton would have been a fantastic match for a club in need of a player with his specific set of skills to help plug those critical holes.
Melton is among the NBA’s top 3-and-D guards because he has the size, power, shooting ability, and technique to have a significant two-way impact every night. In 38.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc, he has averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 made three-point field goals since 2020–21.
When those figures are converted to a per-36 basis, the Lakers lost out on a player who, over the previous four seasons, has averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.1 steals, and 2.8 made three-point field goals.
It’s difficult to argue not paying Melton a reasonable price for a club in need of perimeter defenders.
3. Milwaukee Bucks’ Gary Trent Jr.
The fact that Gary Trent Jr. wasn’t signed until the third week of free agency still defies logic. Trent appeared to be the ideal low-cost addition for any number of NBA teams, since he is a 3-and-D wing with a track record of scoring big points.
Rather, he lingered on the free agency market until the Milwaukee Bucks signed him to a meagre $2,613,120 one-year deal, which increased their chances of winning the title.
Trent, who stands 6’5″ and weighs 204 pounds with a 6’9″ wingspan, is the archetypal wing for the current period. In the past, he has shown promise as a 3-and-D player by using his length and height to disrupt the offensive setups of opposing teams and the rhythm of their main scorers.
As a result, it’s difficult to ignore the chance that Trent, a superb shooter who can play excellent defense when given the opportunity, may have covered two significant holes for the Lakers.
Trent has averaged 16.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.7 made three-point field goals on 38.2 percent shooting from outside the arc during the last three seasons. In contrast, when it came to team three-point field goals made in 2023–24, the Lakers were rated No. 24.
Trent, a two-way wing with three career 40-point games and 20 30-point performances, might have given a struggling Lakers club a lot of team-friendly value for very little money.
