Lakers Considered ‘A Distant Third’ To Sign Free Agent LaMarcus Aldridge

USA Today

The Los Angeles Lakers will attempt to make some major moves this summer in order to right the ship after missing the NBA playoffs in consecutive seasons. Although the storied franchise is focused on the upcoming 2015 NBA Draft, the team will try to drastically improve the roster in free agency come July 1.

One big-name player the team is said to be targeting is LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers. The consensus seems to be that Aldridge will simply re-sign with the Blazers, but the Dallas Mavericks have emerged as a legitimate threat with the Lakers bringing up the rear, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher:

“I’m hearing the possibility of the L.A. Lakers, although I believe that is a distant third at this point.”

Ironcially enough, the frontcourt may not be a major issue for the Lakers moving forward with or without a big-name free agent signed in the NBA offseason. Aldridge is one of many free agents linked to the Lakers along with Kevin Love, Greg Monroe, DeAndre Jordan and Marc Gasol.

With the exception of Love, Los Angeles isn’t expected to be a major threat to sign these big-name frontcourt players this summer. Also, with the second overall pick in the draft, the team will likely draft Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky) or Jahlil Okafor (Duke) potentially securing center spot alongside power forward Julius Randle for the foreseeable future.

It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for the Lakers in free agency, but all indications point to the team making a major improvement through the draft and possibly settling for a guard like Rajon Rondo in free agency.