Lakers To Sign Brandon Bass
The quiet Lakers offseason has gotten a whole lot louder these past two days. After striking out on the A-list free agents the team took the Holiday weekend to pull off a trade for center Roy Hibbert and strike a deal with free agent guard Lou Williams. According to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports the team has continued to build their free agency momentum this Sunday afternoon by signing veteran free agent power forward Brandon Bass, formerly of the Boston Celtics.
Sources: Free agent forward Brandon Bass leaving Celtics for rival Lakers. http://t.co/gc8sNdoeI7
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 6, 2015
Now before you run to El Segundo with pitchforks in hand, demanding as much playing time as possible for the Lakers’ promising power forward Julius Randle, keep in mind that Mitch Kupchak has insinuated that Randle has the versatility to play both forward spots if necessary:
“I would hesitate to pigeonhole him at a position right now.” – Mitch Kupchak on Julius Randle
Does this mean Randle is the starting small forward? No. But what it implies is that Bass’ minutes won’t necessarily come at the expense of Randle’s. As of now, I would expect Bass to come off the bench for LA and see around 20-25 minutes a game.
Bass, 30, has been one of the more reliable big men in the league for quite some time and had his best season in 2011-12 as a role player during the Celtics’ “Big 3” era in which he averaged career highs of 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. Last season Bass put up 10.6 and 4.9 in 23.1 minutes on a youth-oriented Celtics squad.
Bass is the definition of solid and for a relatively young Lakers roster, his veteran presence and work ethic will be a welcomed addition. What the Lakers seem to be developing with their roster as of late is something they’ve rarely had in recent years: versatility. With three combo guards now in the backcourt rotation and the aforementioned versatility of Julius Randle, the team can legitimately put a myriad of different looks out on the court. Bass contributes to that. Though undersized at 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, Bass has the ability to play as a small ball center in certain lineups due to his effectiveness as both a rebounder and scorer in the low post. The defense may be a significant question, but as a bench player, his deficiencies will be easier to mask.
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Bass’ addition adds fuel to the emerging reports that the Lakers have been pursuing deals to ship out power forward Ryan Kelly alongside Nick Young. If any such deal comes to fruition, the Lakers likely go into this season with a solid rotation of Randle, Bass and (this year’s 27th overall pick) Larry Nance Jr. at the four spot.
Contract details have yet to be released but it can be expected that Bass’ deal will fall into either the Lakers’ $2.8 million room exception or the standard veteran’s minimum. Nevertheless, with a dwindling crop of free agents, the Lakers landed perhaps the most reliable of the remaining bunch. LA has done a surprising job of recovering from what appeared to be a lost offseason. With a balanced blend of veteran players and young, promising prospects the team may be much more fun to watch next season than many had expected just 24 hours ago.