The Los Angeles Lakers had a flawless offseason this year. After the end of the last season, the LA side planned to keep the core together. That’s what they have been able to do. Three crucial players were heading toward free agency – Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell. The 17-time champions extended their contracts to multi-year deals. Moreover, the Lakers got reinforcements like Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, and Gabe Vincent.
On top of that, the Lakers retained Jarred Vanderbilt as well. The LA side has the big Christian Wood to help Anthony Davis at the center. They have pretty talented young players like Jaxson Hayes and Jalen Hood-Schifino as well. Hence, the 17-time champions look deep and balanced. But they can certainly look for another talent as their 15th member. Who’ll it be?
How About Jrue Holiday As The 15th Member Of The Lakers?
Recently, the Portland Trail Blazers shocked the fans after trading Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks on a three-team deal. The Bucks were already title contenders, as they had been in the previous few seasons. But with Lillard, they will get even stronger. However, in terms of the three-team deal, the Trail Blazers will receive plenty of talents like Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, and Deandre Ayton. On top of that, a first-round pick of 2029 from the Bucks. It is a pretty valuable deal for the Trail Blazers, but they might not need Jrue Holiday on their roster. Hence, the Trail Blazers might trade Holiday for other useful assets. Many teams expressed a desire to sign Holiday if such an option opens up. What if the Lakers sign Jrue Holiday?
The LA side must be lacking in the department of outside shooting. Jrue Holiday is then a perfect choice to erase that weakness. For the Bucks, Holiday had an average of 19.3 points as well as 7.4 assists in the previous season. He is 6’5 and weighs 205 pounds. Moreover, Holiday is pretty good in defense and also can switch to the role of a bigger guard. Last season, the Lakers failed to stop the Denver Nuggets in the conference finals because they were lacking some power in the defense. Jrue Holiday can solve that issue. Moreover, he can help LeBron James with his workload in the offense. Clearly, Holiday has a perfect selling point for the Lakers.
The LA Franchise Was Able To Retain The Two Main Players Of The Last Season
Austin Reaves was the most important among them. Rob Pelinka and the rest of the front office were keen to extend his contract for as long term as possible. Hence, they retained him for four years with a contract worth $56 million. The LA side sure got the Oklahoma Sooners kid to stay pretty easily. Otherwise, the expected new value of AR was around $90-100 million.
But the Lakers would certainly match any offer that any team came up with for Reaves. However, the Lakers got Rui Hachimura to extend his stay to another three years with a contract worth $51 million. The Gonzaga product has been pretty valuable coming off the bench, especially in the playoffs. Despite certain hesitations, the LA side retained D’Lo Russell for two years with a player option in his second year.