The LA Lakers will face a pivotal offseason with many questions that can change the direction of the franchise.
Some of those questions are out of their hands. The best example is the 2016 NBA draft lottery result. If the balls go their way, they could land a possibly integral piece to their rebuild or at least, a very important trade chip.
Another question is which free agents can they lure to Tinseltown? One of the most probable targets they could acquire is Hassan Whiteside. This was endorsed by Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
"The player I think is most interesting for Los Angeles is Hassan Whiteside, who will be an unrestricted free agent," Kennedy predicted. "Whiteside is only 26 years old and he would greatly improve the Lakers' defense while also complementing Randle well. I think he's the guy L.A. should pursue the hardest."
Whiteside is not at a late stage in his career where he wants to win a championship. He has yet to sign a big contract and be treated like a star. With the Lakers, he will be the next installment in a long line of legendary LA centers which has Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal. Being in a big market will get him endorsement deals and exposure. Those intangibles still matter for young, rising free agents.
Recently, the Lakers, led by their young trio of D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle had a statement game against the Golden State Warriors. The LA Times says it put the league on notice--specifically Whiteside and DeMar DeRozan.
"I think most players that are free agents probably look at our roster and look at our young guys and see if those guys developed over the year and see what their type of potential is before they make a decision," Lakers coach Byron Scott said.
Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times offered a reality check on DeRozan.
"DeRozan is a big reason for Toronto's success this season, and he's from Los Angeles. The Raptors have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, possibly making it that much harder for him to leave a successful team."
Former player Jalen Rose also declared on his "Jalen and Jacoby" podcast that DeRozan would go to LA, "if he leaves Toronto." The only reason for him to do that is if Toronto has an early playoff exit or if the Raptors have second thoughts on his offer since they want to pursue Kevin Durant.
Perhaps all of the teams want to pursue Durant and most teams would wait for his decision-including the Lakers. Thus, it's unlikely for LA to pull the rug from Toronto but the Raptors have to be decisive in keeping the All-Star guard because the Lakers are prepared to offer a max contract for him.