This past weekend, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to make that big trade to bring Anthony Davis to the roster. It involved sending away three players from their roster and several draft picks. However, it paired another major All-Star with LeBron James in his latest quest to capture another NBA ring. That said, there are now fans in a frenzy thinking that the next stars to join the cause will be Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, or Kawhi Leonard. Not so fast say the ESPN insiders, but there is some good potential out there in free agency.

Lakers' money situation is slim

Immediately as the Davis trade arrived, so did rumors of the Lakers' top free agent target. However, that may not happen. In the ESPN YouTube video below, insiders Bobby Marks and Arian Wojnarowski are on hand to break down the cash crunch and roster issues that the Lakers will have to deal with. Marks said that due to the timing of the Anthony Davis trade, the team is going to lose almost $10 million of salary space. So they'll drop from $32.5 million down to $23.7 million to work with, per ESPN's Marks.

How do they address their roster situation? They've traded away point guard Lonzo Ball, along with backup guard Josh Hart, and starting forward Brandon Ingram.

Their projected lineup as of right now features LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma. However, it also has Moritz Wagner as the power forward and Isaac Bonga as the point guard. Still, the $23.7 million could buy some quality role players for the team.

In the video, Marks points out that the money could help them get a player like Bogdan Bojanovic, but that would take up a lot of the money.

They could then add someone like Darren Collison to the starting lineup. Or they could look to bring on multiple-time champion Danny Green, who can become a free agent this summer.

Along with defensive star Patrick Beverly, a recent CBS Sports report named another 10 players as reasonable free agent options for the Lakers. Here's their list:

  • PG Patrick Beverly LAC
  • PF Marcus Morris BOS
  • SF Danny Green TOR
  • SG Rodney Hood POR
  • SG Seth Curry SG
  • SG Reggie Bullock LAL
  • SG Trevor Ariza WAS
  • SG Jeremy Lamb CHA
  • PF Nikola Mirotic MIL
  • SG JJ Redick PHI
  • SF Bojan Bogdanovic IND

There are options there and both Marks and Woj agreed that the Lakers need to fill out roster spots.

In particular, they need guards and shooting. Woj mentioned names like Trevor Ariza, a guy with interest playing there. He also said it's possible some players may be willing to give up some salary in a quest to win an NBA title.

Lakers considered top team for 2019-20

Vegas sportsbooks were already offering the Los Angeles Lakers as favorites to win the 2019-20 NBA Championship. Those odds are based on pure speculation with the addition of Anthony Davis. It may also be based on Vegas attempting to lure bettors in based on hype. There are plenty of rumors swirling around about players such as Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, or Kyrie Irving joining the Lakers. However, they could choose more lucrative situations.

The Lakers have a big two right now with LeBron and AD. Kyle Kuzma isn't a bad third for a "Big Three" combo as he's emerged as a young star in the league. Los Angeles Lakers fans may need to accept that some of the best players in the league simply won't choose to accept a lot less money to play with LeBron and Davis for a title.
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