The Los Angeles Lakers are enduring one of the toughest stretches the franchise has ever seen. Losers of nine consecutive games and 12 out of their last 13 overall, the outlook for the remainder of the 2017-18 regular season looks bleak for the Lakers.
The Lakers have dealt with unfortunate circumstances that have forced some key players to miss time, either due to injury or off the court issues. Brook Lopez recently returned after missing time because of an ankle injury, getting back into the starting lineup in Friday night’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
With Lopez back, the Lakers are shaking things up a bit by releasing Andrew Bogut, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania.
Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers are releasing center Andrew Bogut. With Lakers at 11-27, this allows sides to part ways and Bogut to pivot toward signing with a playoff team.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2018
From a roster structure standpoint, signing Bogut made little sense in the first place. The Lakers had already acquired Lopez via trade and drafted Thomas Bryant shortly after, with Ivica Zubac already on the roster after a promising campaign. Not to mention Julius Randle and Larry Nance, Jr., who should get minutes as small-ball centers when the team goes to that type of lineup.
But it certainly is not outlandish to think that Bogut’s experience provided some value for the abundance of youth on the Lakers’ roster. That was likely the reason he was brought in, but Bogut finishing the season elsewhere is not at all surprising. As Charania suggests, he can now try to latch on with a playoff team and try to win another NBA championship.
Meanwhile, the Lakers might have some minutes here and there to throw at youngsters like Zubac and Bryant. Moving on makes sense for both sides.
It also opens up a roster spot to address some other needs on the roster. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, adding some perimeter shooting is at the top of the list for the Lakers.
With roster spot opened, Lakers plan to be aggressive in finding some shooting on a 10-day contract among available pool of players, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2018
At this point, I would settle for the team adding someone that could consistently make free throws. But if the Lakers can find someone on the market that can add three-point shooting and floor spacing, there is definitely a spot in the rotation for him.
The Lakers could definitely use some help at backup point guard or someone more reliable as a shooter than Corey Brewer backing up Brandon Ingram.
Will the Los Angeles call up someone from the South Bay Lakers or look in the pool of veteran free agents for shooters such as Anthony Morrow or Randy Foye (Just to name a few players available)? More details are sure to come.
You can follow this author on Twitter at @garykester.
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