5 Best Remaining Free Agents the Lakers Can Still Sign

Luke Kennard

The Los Angeles Lakers have desperately needed shooters in the last couple of years. Rob Pelinka and the front office have failed miserably in their attempts to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis with elite shooting and spacing. They now have an opportunity to correct that mistake.

There are a couple of high-level shooters still available on the market including Landry Shamet, Doug McDermott, Davis Bertans, and Evan Fournier. None of them, however, are as dangerous as Luke Kennard behind the three-point line.

Kennard shot a whopping 45% from downtown last year on 6.1 attempts per game. His career percentage of 43.9 on 4.6 attempts per game is one of the best in the history of the NBA. LeBron hasn't played with a shooter of that caliber in his Lakers stint and with him and AD aging, they need as much shooting as possible to operate comfortably on the offensive end.

Precious Achiuwa

This would be a different type of acquisition. Unlike the backcourt players discussed earlier, Precious Achiuwa would add more size, strength, and defensive versatility to the Lakers. At 6-foot-8 and with elite physical and athletic tools, Achiuwa is one of the most versatile defenders in the league. He can switch on smaller players while also being able to protect the rim and rebound at a high level.

Achiuwa's offensive game is a work in progress. He doesn't have the shooting touch or the scoring ability but he runs the floor hard, crashes the boards, and provides an overall high-level activity. A frontcourt duo of him and Davis would be difficult to score on. When Davis is on the bench, Achiuwa can play small-ball five and provide a different defensive look for the Lakers.

The Knicks desperately want to keep Achiuwa but they are financially restricted. If the Lakers offer a contract above the minimum, they should be able to poach Achiuwa.

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