The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the practice court after a long layoff and even after an entire All-Star break, they still have an open roster spot after they opened one up before the trade deadline.
All of the veterans who hit the buyout market, aside from Carmelo Anthony, were snatched up by other teams after the trade deadline. And one of the names the Lakers went after was former Knicks big man Enes Kanter, who signed with Portland last week.
Kanter told reporters on Wednesday that the choice came down to the Lakers and Blazers, before ultimately choosing Portland.
Kanter joins Wesley Matthews, Markieff Morris and Wayne Ellington as would-be Lakers targets who chose other teams where they would have bigger roles and in many cases, be on better teams.
While the Lakers ceiling is high if LeBron James goes up to another level and Lonzo Ball is back healthy soon, it’s fair to say that among the potential targets, they were not anybody’s first choice.
Meanwhile, Anthony is still a free agent and anybody else who could join the Lakers from another team must be waived by March 1 to be playoff eligible.
