With the Los Angeles Lakers having over 10 free agents enter the market this summer, it was unlikely most would return.
Alex Caruso, Dennis Schroder, Andre Drummond, Ben McLemore and Markieff Morris have signed with new teams in free agency.
The Lakers have 12 players on the main roster penciled in but need three more to complete the 15-man squad.
Los Angeles has prioritized finding a third point guard: Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison and Mike James are among the players L.A. has recently worked out.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers want to use only two of the remaining three spots and keep the 15th spot open to maintain flexibility during the regular season:
“The Lakers, who have 12 players under guaranteed contracts, will go into the 2021-22 season carrying 14 players in order to maintain flexibility, sources said.”
The Lakers taking that route would seemingly end Jared Dudley’s time with the team, Haynes wrote:
“And with the intention of signing two more players and leaving a roster spot open, it means Jared Dudley’s two-year tenure with the organization will likely come to an end.”
Dudley, 36, has signed minimum deals each of the last two seasons with the Lakers and has served as a stretch four and small-ball center in certain lineups because of his spacing.
But this past season, the Lakers rarely utilized him, and he later dealt with a tear in his knee that sidelined him for a few months.
Dudley’s main asset to the team was his leadership off the bench, but since he didn’t play much while healthy, it’s reasonable for the Lakers to pursue other options who can help on the court.
