Lakers Rumors: Khris Middleton shouldn’t be a realistic target

The latest Los Angeles Lakers rumors signal that the team could be pursuing Khris Middleton next summer, although the front office really shouldn’t be.

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to add a second start alongside LeBron James before the start of the 2019-2020 season. While the current focus might be on the season at hand, these desires have stemmed countless Lakers rumors, all connecting the team to different stars.

Thus far, none of the Lakers rumors have really come to fruition aside from the James signing. Playing alongside LeBron definitely has an impact on luring stars and that impact has seemingly been negative.

However, the Lakers still have the summer of 2019 and that will the summer in which the front office will strike. Los Angeles has enough cap space to bring in another star and has the young ammunition on the roster to potentially make a blockbuster move for a second star.

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Some of the biggest names have been tied to the Lakers, such as Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis. However, it has been a lesser name that has occupied the Lakers rumors over the last several days.

Sean Deveney of Sporting News reports that the Los Angeles Lakers might be one of the teams interested in Khris Middleton next summer. And while Middleton would naturally be a great piece alongside LeBron James, the Lakers simply should not make Middleton a realistic target.

Middleton is a quality NBA player, don’t get me wrong, but he is still a borderline all-star at his absolute best and is not someone that will shift the landscape of the NBA. Would he make the Lakers better? Absolutely. Would he make the Lakers good enough to win the NBA Title? Probably not.

Middleton is the best version of a three and D player that an NBA team could get, a player mold that plays best alongside James. However, due to his status and statistically output on the Bucks, Middleton is likely going to cost a somewhat hefty fee.

Deveney predicts that Middleton would get a four-year, $140 million deal is he decides to leave the Bucks in free agency. That is $35 million per year.

Let’s be generous for the Lakers and say he signs a $100 million deal over four years, something that is under his evaluation. I still don’t think he would be worth that kind of money.

If the Lakers were to bring in a second star and had the cap space to sign Middleton then sure, I guess it makes sense. However, him solely being the second option on a forward-heavy LeBron team won’t go far.

The Lakers already have Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma filling out minutes at forward, although the team could play Ingram at the two and Middleton at the three.

Of course, there is also LeBron James, which does not leave much space for Middleton to join the team.

He simply is not something that the Lakers need and is not someone that makes sense, at all. It would be more of a hassle to fit him on this team and he would not produce the kind of results wanted to make his contract worth it.

With that in mind, it is apparent that Khris Middleton is not a good target for the Los Angeles Lakers and these Lakers rumors should be taken with a grain of salt.