Lakers: Building the ideal 10-man rotation for the 2018 season

9 – Trey Burke (PG)

I like Trey Burke and I think the Los Angeles Lakers should be inclined to spend their little remaining salary cap space on him. After out estimations, the Lakers should still have $8 million to spend on bench pieces. Realistically, that number will be closer to zero, but anywhere from $1-8 million makes sense.

Even if the Lakers do have to spend most of their budget on Paul George and DeMarcus Cousins (which I do not see happening, back-loaded contracts) they will still have the flexibility to add bench pieces as Julius Randle has Bird Rights. As you can see by the players listed thus far, the Lakers would only need to add one bench piece alongside the established guys.

And that bench piece should be Trey Burke, who should play a very similar role as Tyler Ennis is playing this season. Although Ennis will still be under contract in 2018, he does not deserve the minutes if the Lakers can find an upgrade. Virtually any other option is an upgrade.

Thus, the Lakers could pursue a guy like Burke who, at the most, would cost them $2 million in 2018. Burke is a pretty decent bench option that has shown the potential to be a viable starting guard. Right now, Burke is averaging 7.4 points, 2.8 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 13 minutes per game (only 13 appearances).

Again, this is not the most staggering addition and won’t be on the front page of ESPN. However, Burke still has a role in this contending Lakers team.