Where the Los Angeles Lakers Should Spend Their Money in 2015 NBA Free Agency

A long summer looms, and the Los Angeles Lakers will continue to soldier ahead, rebuilding a fallen empire that once celebrated its seasons with champagne showers.

There is much work to be done, and for a team that has often swung for the fences and landed superstars, there is a central question—whether to spend big or spend smart as a roster is reconstructed.

During his recent exit interview, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak spoke about the difference between investing in quick-fix solutions and long-term improvement.

“We're not going to use our cap room just to use cap room and maybe improve…20 games,” Kupchak said, per Lakers.com. “You work hard to create a future, whether it’s with draft picks or the opportunity to make a trade or free-agent dollars, and you don’t want to give it away just because you have it.”

In other words, one splashy purchase can move the needle significantly, but three or four wiser decisions will get you closer to the ultimate goal line.

The case for spending big

Despite his pragmatism, Kupchak did acknowledge the possibility of going after a major tent-pole piece when he said, “We have the ability to recruit and sign at least one max player this summer.”

That would have to be someone young enough to provide value for years to come. One such case is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, who was lost for the remainder of the postseason after shoulder surgery that will take from four to six months to fully heal.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Love has consistently maintained that he doesn’t plan on opting out of the final year on his contract with the Cavaliers this summer, but that hasn’t stopped the “what if” rumors.

Sean Deveney of Sporting News recently wrote: “If Love does leave the Cavs this year, he’s much more likely to do so in order to go home to Los Angeles and play for the Lakers.”

At 26, the 6’10” power forward still has a long career ahead of him and has been a consistent stats-stuffer since being selected as the fifth overall draft pick out of UCLA by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008. True, his numbers plunged in Cleveland—17.5 points per game as opposed to 26.1 last season in Minnesota. But that’s a factor of playing alongside volume scorers like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

But with Julius Randle returning to the Lakers after missing his rookie season with a broken leg, and with soon-to-be free agent Ed Davis being another affordable option at the 4, is Love really the guy that L.A. needs most?

The greater need is for a dominant center. But while names like Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers dominate the discussion of upcoming max contract-type post warriors, their current teams will be in prime position to offer the most money through Bird rights.

The fire sale option

Danny Bollinger/Getty Images

Sometimes, a potential max-contract player sees it all blow up in his face.

Take the case of Rajon Rondo, who hasn’t been the same since an ACL injury in 2013 with the Boston Celtics. The market for the enigmatic point guard went further south after he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in December.

Among the warning signs were a degradation of Rondo’s primary asset—his assists dropped from 10.8 per game before the trade to 6.5 in Dallas. Add to the mix an altercation with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle that led to a one-game suspension in February. And to top things off, Rondo contributed only a minimal effort in the first two games of the playoffs before the dreaded mutual parting of ways.

A blue-chip fund may have become a penny stock overnight.

The Lakers have long had an interest in Rondo, fueled by Kobe Bryant’s friendship with the feisty guard. A very public breakfast meeting between the two NBA champions in Boston in December ramped up the speculation considerably.

Despite the debacle in Dallas, Rondo could still serve a need as Bryant’s setup man, delivering passes in prime position as the league’s third all-time leading scorer seeks to go out in style.

And as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding recently wrote, Los Angeles may be one of the only teams still willing to take a gamble:

"

So there remains a distinct possibility in today's pace-and-space NBA that the Los Angeles Lakers will be the torchbearers for the old school and sign the pass-first (nay, pass-only) Rondo to a free-agent contract this summer.

But what should be made clear, according to team sources, is that [Jim] Buss is not the believer he was earlier in the season when it comes to Rondo, and Kupchak is toting enough healthy skepticism that he sees Rondo as value only at a certain low price.

"

A reduced price now could allow Rondo to redeem himself and salvage a larger payday in the near future. By signing a one-year contract with a player’s option for a second year, the 29-year-old could put himself in a more advantageous position when the salary cap rises.

Or he could be a locker room cancer and hinder the development of a valuable young prospect like point guard Jordan Clarkson, who started the final 38 games of his rookie season. 

Finding the middle ground

Aaron Gash/Associated Press

Somewhere between a gargantuan contract and a risky reclamation project is the middle ground—finding players who fit the Lakers’ needs now and in the future.

This means identifying those who potentially still have room to grow and can function well in Byron Scott’s system with its priority on defense and unselfish team play.

The small forward position is a huge priority for Los Angeles—the Wesley Johnson experiment of the past two years has simply not paid off. 

But there will be two restricted free agents this summer who would be a major upgrade over Johnson's chameleon-like ways. 

Khris Middleton, 23, of the Milwaukee Bucks and Tobias Harris, 22, of the Orlando Magic are both talented and versatile swingmen who put out a consistent effort at both ends of the court. That said, their current teams want them back—to pry either loose will be a matter of money.

“I definitely feel like everybody wants me back here,” said Middleton, per Andrew Gruman for Fox Sports Wisconsin. “But at the end of the day, it's a business, so you have to make the right decision for you.”

The Lakers could bid on one of them—perhaps somewhere in the $10-$12 million range. But that money will be tied up while awaiting an ultimate answer.

While on hold, L.A. could make a more modest offer on an unrestricted free agent like Kosta Koufos—a 7-foot center journeyman who is still just 26 and is currently backing up Gasol for the Grizzlies. Koufos is the kind of rebounder and shot-blocker who would function well in the Lakers’ system.

The front office also has to find a way to bring back Davis, who coincidentally played with Koufos in Memphis last season. The 6’10” 25-year-old is looking for a long-term deal with the Lakers and could be re-signed in a variety of ways, including the mid-level exception, which will be about $5.5 million next season for teams that are not in the luxury tax.

Jim Buss and Kupchak will first address the upcoming draft and let the results help guide their decision-making during the rest of the offseason. They’ll also be assessing intelligence on the availability of free agents right up to the opening bell on July 1.

But when it comes down to it, the best path forward is a continuation of the youth movement with a balance of a few veterans who still have plenty of good years ahead.

That most likely means mining the middle ground for now and continuing to build an exciting and developing base of talent, knowing that the climbing salary cap will allow even more financial flexibility in the years ahead.