The Los Angeles Lakers are in danger of not advancing past the first round of the playoffs, as their series with the Phoenix Suns is tied at 2-2 and Anthony Davis could miss Game 5 with a groin injury. If the defending champions are unable to make a deep run, we could see some serious changes to their roster this offseason.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report spoke with several NBA executives about the challenges the Lakers will face in the next several months. The majority of their salary cap is currently dedicated to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, and injuries to those two superstars this season were a reminder of how much L.A. could use a third star. Is Kyle Lowry a veteran who could play that role?
Dennis Schroder is set to become a free agent this offseason. The point guard already turned down a four-year, $84 million extension offer from the Lakers when they acquired him via trade last year. There have been reports that Schroder is unhappy with his role in L.A. and wants to sign with a team that will allow him to to be “the guy.”
As Fischer notes, that could present the Lakers with an opportunity to work out a sign-and-trade. However, Lowry is also set to become a free agent, so the Toronto Raptors would have work out a sign-and-trade with him as well to get him to L.A. It’s unclear if Schroder would have interest in playing for the Raptors, and he would obviously need to agree to the sign portion of the sign-and-trade.
Lowry is 35, but he still averaged 17.2 points, 7.3 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game on a bad Raptors team this season. He’s the type of veteran who could certainly help the Lakers, and they were one of several teams that pursued him earlier this year. They could resume those talks with Toronto this offseason, but the situation is much more complicated now.
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