4 Free Agents the Lakers Should Sign for the Veteran Minimum

Cedi Osman, SF

LeBron James likes to play with familiar faces he can trust. Over the years, he has always gravitated towards players he knows and has played with. Cedi Osman fits that mold. In LeBron's final season in Cleveland, Osman was an up-and-coming rookie who played in 61 and started in 12 games for the Cavs. At that point, he was an energy guy who brought hustle and defensive intensity for the aging Cavs team.

Now, he is a much more all-around player. At age 29, he is in his prime and has established himself as a decent role player off the bench. He shot the best percentage of his career from three last season with 38.9%. He is a good transition player who likes to run and attack the basket. He still brings a ton of energy and high intensity to the team he is on.

That is what the Lakers need. Los Angeles doesn't have too many wings who play hard and make plays. Osman can hold his own defensively with solid size at 6'7 and quick, mobile feet. He doesn't have too many weaknesses in his game and that is a huge upgrade over some of the small forward options on the roster right now.

In his first six NBA seasons, Osman averaged 9.7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game in 23.6 minutes for the Cavs. Last season with the Spurs, he averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on career-high efficiency from the field. If he is gettable on a minimum contract, the Lakers could do much worse than the Turkish swingman.

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