Lakers Rumors: Three Steps to Build an Instant Contender
By Jason Reed
3. Sign Gordon Hayward and Other Role-Players
With the money we freed up with our (admittedly) ridiculous deal of Mozgov and Deng we were able to bring in three free agents to play a significant role on the Lakers. First, we brought in small forward Gordon Hayward – who has turned into one of the best young stars in the game and has spoken well of the Lakers. Activating his player option with Utah can bring him into Los Angeles.
Alongside Hayward, we signed two role players to come off of the bench for the Lakers. We were able to sign both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Alex Len for a combined $14.5 million, something that can only be done without Deng and Mozgov on the ship. Hardaway Jr. would come off of the bench behind D’Angelo Russell and Len would serve as the backup Center to Ivica Zubac.
Still, the biggest acquisition the Lakers would focus on here would be Gordon Hayward. Hayward’s brilliance may not be fully recognized as he plays in a fairly small market team, but the guy can ball and he is only getting better. Turning 27 just 20 days ago, Gordon averages 22.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
Hayward would undoubtedly be the Lakers number one scoring option, however, they would have three other legitimate options in Ball, Russell, Ingram, and Randle. Ingram would naturally come off the bench and be a fantastic sixth man while he develops, and would give the Lakers some much-needed depth that they don’t already have.