Following an extremely active trade deadline which saw the Lakers acquire Luka Doncic and Mark Williams in separate deals, the team now has an open roster spot. Although Los Angeles isn’t in a rush to fill that vacancy, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported on his live stream (YouTube link) that the Lakers seem to be leaning toward filling out their roster with another shooting guard.
“I’ve heard they’re going to be patient,” Buha said (hat tip to BasketNews.com). “They’re not in a rush to find that potential 15th player. They view the shooting guard spot as the current hole right now, so it seems that’s the type of guy they’re going to try to get.
“Just logically looking at the depth chart, they kind of have everything else. They don’t need a point guard, they have multiple wings that can play 30-plus minutes a night, they have a couple of centers. Looking at the roster and the layout of everything, they need another shooting guard, so I think that’s a direction they’re going to try to go.”
NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Thursday (via Twitter) that Lonnie Walker, who is currently playing for Lithuanian club Zalgris Kaunas, has an out clause in his contract and is a buyout candidate to monitor. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Walker has generated “considerable interest” from NBA teams (Twitter link).
Could a reunion with the Lakers be in the cards? Buha suggested (YouTube link) Walker’s defense might be a concern, and he’s not sure if he’s at the top of the team’s wish list. For what it’s worth, Josh Richardson, Jaden Springer, Seth Curry and Reggie Jackson were among the other players who were either brought up by Buha or asked about by fans.
“If they [Lakers] do add someone, it’s probably going to be a shooting guard, but maybe they end up just doing best player available and saying like, ‘Hey, we don’t love the shooting guard options. Let’s just get the best player.’”