Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on LaMarcus Aldridge, Plan B Options and More

Not much has worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers early in the 2015 NBA free-agency period. The team set its sights on a multitude of top-tier players, including DeAndre Jordan, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love, with practically zero success.

Love agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract to remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Jordan just recently announced an agreement with the Dallas Mavericks that will keep him in Texas for four years on about $80 million, according to Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. And then there's the case of Aldridge.

The Lakers completely botched their first meeting with the big man, failing to fully discuss the basketball aspects of the pitch. Interestingly enough, the team was granted a second chance with the power forward, and while its pitch was better, it still fell short, according to a tweet from Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times:

So, Aldridge is likely out. That's not a good sign for a team that's coming off yet another dismal season and looking to surround Kobe Bryant with viable weapons for what may be the future Hall of Famer's final season.

It appears as though the Lakers will need to begin looking into a Plan B. The team desperately needs help in the frontcourt and could use some added depth in the backcourt. Well, there are rumors that link the Lakers to players in both of those areas.

As for the frontcourt, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News tweeted two potential targets:

Amar'e Stoudemire spent the bulk of last season with the New York Knicks, appearing in 36 games and starting 14. He put up some decent numbers at the age of 32, averaging 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the floor. In Los Angeles, he could be utilized as a nice rotational piece and mentor for the team's younger players.

However, according to a tweet from Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling, several other teams are interested in acquiring Stoudemire's services:

If Stoudemire doesn't work out, the Lakers would likely take a longer look at Jason Smith. The power forward also spent last season with the Knicks, making 82 appearances and starting 31 games. He finished the season averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 43.4 percent from the floor. Like Stoudemire, he'd be another rotational piece for the Lakers.

One other frontcourt possibility for Los Angeles is Kosta Koufos, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders:

Koufos is a big center at 7'0", but he only spent one NBA season (2012-13 with the Denver Nuggets) as a full-time starter. He's been used primarily as a bench player throughout his career and is coming off a campaign with the Memphis Grizzlies in which he made 81 appearances and started three games. He averaged 5.2 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 50.8 percent from the floor last year.

Finally, there's the matter of adding depth to the Lakers backcourt. Bryant is in the twilight of his career, and while D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson look to have promising futures, depth is always a necessity. According to a tweet from Chris Broussard of ESPN, Los Angeles was looking to Corey Brewer to fill that void:

Unfortunately, the Lakers were a bit late to the party, as Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the guard agreed to a three-year deal with the Houston Rockets:

We can chalk that one up to another missed opportunity for Los Angeles, continuing the disappointing theme of this free-agency period.

There's still plenty of talent available on the open market, and the Lakers need to turn their focus to the remaining Plan B players while other teams continue to fight for the handful of remaining top-tier players.