The Los Angeles Lakers have been in contact with Kawhi Leonard, and continue to wait on his decision. Time is starting to tick though, as many players have already been signed on day one of free agency. The Athletics D.C Editor in Chief David Aldridge has reported that the Lakers have come to a deal with free agent guard Troy Daniels:
Lakers closing in on deal with guard Troy Daniels, per league source. Opportunity for the 27-year-old, who played in Phoenix last couple of seasons (38 percent on threes in 2018-19); low-cost vet for the Lakers who’ll help fill out the rotation.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 1, 2019
NBA insider for The Atheltic Shams Charania gave more insight into the specifics of the deal:
Free agent Troy Daniels has agreed to a one-year, $2.1M with the Lakers, agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Daniels gives the Lakers an elite shooter to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and does not affect the team’s cap space.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2019
As Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights points out, this will not count as part of the Lakers room exception, but as the veteran’s minimum. With the Lakers needing to spend every penny wisely, it is going to be key to find good value on their minimum contracts.
Troy Daniels averaged seven points a game last season for the Phoenix Suns, shooting 40 percent from three. He is a knockdown shooter which fills a much-needed position for this team. Daniels is a journeyman in the NBA but has shot above 38 percent from three in each of his last five seasons. The Lakers still do not have five players on the team, but this is a good start in filling out the rest of the roster.
James SF (Green), Caruso PG (Young), Davis PF (Kuzma), Caldwell-Pope SG (Horton-Tucker) McGee C (Chandler). They all can score and pass; all but one can play smothering defense. I understand that the league has changed. but we are now starting to resemble the Kobe championship formula — playing two high quality bigs and a sharp-shooting guard. The little run-and-gun teams are going to have a hard time out-shooting a team that will be dunking more than half the time. I do hope they bring back Rondo. His shooting is better, he remains a deft passer, and is a wise scrapper on the defensive end. Perhaps his best quality is that he is a genius at scoping out the opposition defense and knows which offense will get the advantage. If he can pass along some of his moxie and analytical accuum, he will be a real asset to Caruso and Young. With that kind of depth I would love to see us play a full-court press to wear down teams with normal drop off from starters to reserves.