The Los Angeles Lakers have a fallback option if Dorian Finney-Smith bolts in free agency.
According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Lakers will pursue two-way guard De’Anthony Melton, who last played for the Golden State Warriors.
“If the Lakers lose Finney-Smith, they are expected to show interest in De’Anthony Melton, who was only able to play in six games last season with Golden State due to an ACL tear and was traded by the Warriors in December to Brooklyn for Dennis Schröder,” Stein and Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter a few hour before NBA Free Agency opens on June 30.
Dan Woike of The Athletic reported that the Lakers are expecting to lose Finney-Smith to the Rockets. Previously, Stein and Fischer reported that the Rockets are preparing a four-year deal offer with their $14.1 million full midlevel exception.
The Lakers’ top priority remains a starting-caliber center, but if they lose Finney-Smith, they will need another wing.
Wing Depth & Frontline Help
Getty De’Anthony Melton suffered an ACL tear while playing for the Golden State Warriors last season.
Only five players, including Finney-Smith, averaged 20 minutes or more in the Lakers’ five-game loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.
Gabe Vincent (19.5 minutes) and Jarred Vanderbilt (12.0 minutes) are the only other players off the bench whom Lakers coach JJ Redick trusted in the postseason.
The Lakers can have a seven-deep rotation for the playoffs if they can sign Melton and add a starting center.
Before the ACL injury, Melton averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals in six games, including two starts, for the Warriors. He played next to Stephen Curry and helped the Warriors get off to a 12-2 start.
His injury derailed the Warriors, who stumbled to 11th in the Western Conference until they made the big swing on Jimmy Butler that lifted them back to the playoffs. The Warriors quickly shipped Melton out for ex-Lakers guard Dennis Schröder in a move that fizzled out. They subsequently included Schröder in the Butler deal.
If healthy, the 6-foot-3 Melton could play as the third guard behind the Lakers’ backcourt duo of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
The veteran guard is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the season.
3 Centers on Lakers’ Radar
GettyBrook Lopez will meet with the Los Angeles Lakers at the start of NBA Free Agency.
In the same report, Stein and Fischer wrote that the Lakers will be meeting with both Brook Lopez and Clint Capela and will “naturally also have interest” in Deandre Ayton, who is finalizing a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers, per ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania.
Lopez is the top center in this year’s free agency outside of Myles Turner, who is likely to return to Indiana, per multiple reports, until Ayton clears the waivers on Wednesday, July 2.
Lopez, 37, averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.8 assists in 80 games last season for the Milwaukee Bucks, where he won a championship in 2021. He shot 37.3% from the 3-point line.
Capela, 31, averaged 8.9 points, 8.5 rebounds (3.6 offensive), 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks in just 21.4 minutes, his lowest playing time since the 2015-16 season as the Atlanta Hawks promoted Onyeka Okongwu to the starting lineup.
Ayton, who will turn 27 next month, averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 56.6% last season in Portland.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lakers Have Backup Option if They Lose Dorian Finney-Smith: Report appeared first on Heavy Sports.