Los Angeles Lakers center Roy Hibbert (R) skyhooks over Los Angeles Clippers' DeAndre Jordan. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly not intending to buy out the contract of its veteran center Roy Hibbert amidst rumors that the two-time All-Star may be playing for a different team as early as next month.
Lakers Nation indicated that the 29-year-old American-Jamaican will not be bought out by Mitch Kupchak and company according to ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne despite actively shopping him around for much of the season.
Hibbert had been the subject of numerous Lakers trade rumors all season, along with his other veteran teammates namely Nick Young, Lou Williams, and Brandon Bass, but the NBA trade deadline had already passed last Thursday and every single one of them is still in the Lakers' purple and gold uniforms.
There were a lot of speculations that if the 7-foot-2 big man is not shipped by the deadline, then the Hollywood franchise will just buy him out to further clear up cap space in preparation for this summer's highly-anticipated free agency period.
Hoops Hype noted that Hibbert is the "least threatening offensive player in the NBA getting big minutes right now". He is also slow even for a big man, which is a disadvantage in facing small-ball lineups and may be the reason why no team called the Lakers to deal for him.
Another reason why no team wanted to trade for him is the high cost he commands, $15.5 million this season, the last of his four-year, $58.4 million contract signed with the Pacers in 2012-2013.
Since he will become an unrestricted free agent this July, interested teams may just be waiting for his contract to expire before trying to negotiate a new deal.
However, Hibbert is still young enough and big enough to contribute significantly on the defensive end of the floor because of his size, length, and innate rim protection skills and so a lot of teams, particularly playoff-bound squads, will definitely be interested in signing him if he is bought out.
The report mentioned that "opponents are shooting 48.8 percent at the rim with Roy Hibbert defending the play" and that is an impressive stat considering the range of where the shots are coming from and how Hibbert stops them.
