Hassan Whiteside (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The NBA free agency rumors have the LA Lakers possibly becoming power players for the younger free agents.
While the entire league waits on Kevin Durant, their front offices have to formulate their Plan B (they might actually use up the entire alphabet). The Lakers continue their public pursuit of the former MVP but there might have been an under-the-radar shift in priorities.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Lakers may make Whiteside the focus of their pursuit.
"There is a sense that Whiteside is one of the top names on the Lakers' wish list of free agents, with the Celtics also interested," Kyler said. "The problem with trying to peg either as having some edge over the other neglects that Whiteside could be the most obtainable free agent in the class and likely gets a lot of interest beyond those two suitors."
The main point is that Whiteside wants the max money and Kyler noted, "if the HEAT try to play games, sources close to the situation say Whiteside will go shopping."
The Lakers would do well to offer Whiteside the max contract. While they have a pressing need to get a scoring wing, they have the no.2 pick in the Draft which would probably be Brandon Ingram.
Ingram has been compared to Kevin Durant although the similarities are primarily physical. Nevertheless, Ingram is has clear offensive skills and a range stretching all the way to the three-point arc. While the Lakers may want to pursue a proven veteran scorer like DeMar DeRozan, Ingram has the potential to become better than him.
Now that the Lakers have an incoming coach who was given partial credit in developing the potential of the nearly-invincible Golden State Warriors, it would not hurt them too much to expect results from a rookie.
What about their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics? Contrary to the Lakers, they have been making serious buzz about their pursuit of Kevin Durant. However, the reality is that before they can attract superstar free agents, they should acquire one via trade as ESPN Insider Tom Haberstroh suggested.
"I still don't see it. Boston is cold, and a star hasn't signed as a free agent in Beantown in a long, long time. Stevens helps matters and Thomas is an All-Star, but it's hard to see someone like Kevin Durant or Al Horford leaving his situation to head up north without a clear championship core," Haberstroh declared.
The Celtics have built themselves as a player both in the trade market and free agency, but one is inevitably connected to the other in a "chicken and egg" type of conundrum. However, if Danny Ainge solves the puzzle this offseason, Boston will be an Eastern powerhouse for years to come.
