Lakers Rumors: Buzz from Los Angeles on Goran Dragic, Greg Monroe and More
If the history of the Los Angeles Lakers is any indication, they will bounce right back next season.
After all, this team doesn’t stay down for long, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many championship banners hanging in the Staples Center rafters. The only way to bounce back next season, though, is with something of a roster overhaul, which is where the latest buzz comes into play.
Here is a look at some rumors from Los Angeles.
Goran Dragic
Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today provided an update on the Lakers’ interest in Phoenix Suns point guard Goran Dragic: “The Lakers are also known to be interested in pairing Dragic with Kobe Bryant, but the list of suitors is expected to be long.”
Dragic could opt out of the final year of his contract this summer and likely will with so many suitors lining up. He was the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2013-14 and set career highs in points (20.3 a night) and dished out plenty of assists (5.9 a night). The resultant payday is waiting.
Whether that payday happens with the Lakers remains to be seen, but they should not be discouraged by his slight dip in production (17.0 points and 4.1 assists per game) considering the Phoenix Suns have three legitimate point guards in Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas and only one ball to go around.
Pairing Dragic with Bryant would be intriguing because he can drill the three-pointer when defenders collapse on Bryant or slash the lane and create open looks for the future Hall of Famer. Dragic is also a proven veteran in the NBA at this point, an excellent passer and facilitator who will likely adapt to a new role alongside a megastar.
Greg Monroe and Brandon Jennings
Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com noted that the Lakers had their eyes on a couple of Detroit Pistons recently:
While the Oklahoma City Thunder became the team to eventually pull the trigger on Dion Waiters, the chances of Los Angeles landing either Greg Monroe or Brandon Jennings are probably a lot lower than they were in December. The Pistons have been playing impressive basketball with 11 wins in their last 14 games and are back in the playoff race in the watered-down Eastern Conference.
With the postseason still in play, Detroit likely won’t be undertaking a fire-sale anytime soon.
While both Monroe and Jennings may not be in the long-term plans for the Pistons (Monroe can become a free agent this offseason), it is hard to ignore the recent success with a chance at the postseason. If the Lakers want either player on their roster, they may have to wait until they hit free agency.
Frankly, that makes more sense from Los Angeles’ perspective. Even with Monroe on the roster, the Lakers aren’t winning anything of note this season and could jeopardize a favorable draft pick in the process with too many wins down the stretch (the pick must be in the top five, otherwise Los Angeles has to give it up).
Why not just wait until the summer and make Monroe a contract offer in free agency if he is a desired target?
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times passed along some information on Carlos Boozer: “The Lakers will look at other options at power forward, falling back to Boozer only if they can't find anybody else.”
There is something profoundly sad about that statement from Boozer’s perspective, but to his credit, he has played fairly well since losing his starting job to Ed Davis as an offensive and rebounding spark off the bench.
He has 44 rebounds in his last six games and was shooting 53.3 percent from the field in January going into Monday’s contest against the Suns.
Boozer commented on his new status, via Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: “Obviously it was a surprise. I didn't expect that. But if it helps our team win, I'm a team player. So if it helps our team win, that's what it's going to be."
It is hard to fault that attitude from the veteran.
Boozer is never going to be the Defensive Player of the Year, but the Lakers could do worse off the bench than a double-double threat with postseason experience. Ideally, though, the starters in front of Boozer will be better next season if he does return.
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