Jonathan Kuminga’s decision to sign with the Wolves left the Lakers with a glaring hole in the front court.
The discussion around it has largely ranged from making a trade to internal options. Little thought has been given to the free agent market, largely because the Lakers aren’t in a position to sign one with the team already at 16 guaranteed contracts.
However, one name long connected with the team is available. While his links to the Lakers were largely tied to the LeBron James-Anthony Davis era,
Bruce Brown has long been chased by the purple and gold.
Despite having a statistically successful season last year with the Nuggets, including playing all 82 games, Brown has remained on the free agent market with few rumors about him. However, his name popped up in a recent live stream by Jake Fischer on Bleacher Report as a potential option for the Lakers.
The Lakers would need to make a host of moves in the next four weeks before training camp to get to a point where signing Brown would even be feasible. As things stand, they already need to consolidate the roster, whether by waiving someone or trading two players for one.
To get to a point where they’d have an open roster spot, it’d be two players released to sign one or trading three players for one, which is basically a non-starter. You could combine the two options as well to get an open roster spot, but you’re starting to see how complicated it would be to get Brown on the roster.
At that point, the question would be whether he’s worth all that, too. He’s an imperfect fit on the roster, even if he’d provide some value with his unique skill set.
There is the chance that Brown starts the season not on a team with the hopes of signing during the season. In that case, perhaps the Lakers could make one or more moves that’d open up a roster spot. But that’d be months away.
It’s not a surprise the Lakers have interest in Brown. But it remains a long shot that he’ll don the purple and gold this season.
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