The Los Angeles Lakers may not have plans to go after a third star this offseason and could prefer to fill out the roster with role players. Kyle Lowry was a star at one point but is now 38 and mostly serves as a role player.
The Lakers will need a point guard if D’Angelo Russell decides to decline his player option and test free agency. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report believes that Lowry is a player Los Angeles should pursue if they’re not looking to spend big money.
“Kyle Lowry could be one of the better bargain-bin options at the position,” Buckley wrote in a June 6 column. “The 38-year-old has lost a few steps—not to mention, the bulk of his scoring—to time, but he’s still helpful as an offensive organizer and off-ball shooting threat. Both the Miami Heat and 76ers utilized him as a near full-time starter this season, and he mostly made good on those chances by tripling his 1.4 turnovers with 4.2 assists and connecting on 39.2 percent of his long-range looks.
“It’s tough to tell what kind of role he’d handle in Los Angeles—perhaps the Lakers view a hopefully healthy Gabe Vincent as a capable starter—but Lowry’s experience, decision-making and leadership would all be helpful to have.”
Is Kyle Lowry a Good Fit?
The risk in signing Lowry would be minimal. He played on a one-year, $2.8 million contract last season for the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat. The six-time All-Star is past the part of his career where he’ll be getting big offers in free agency.
It could also be on the board that Lowry will walk away from the game and retire. If not, the Lakers could make sense. The team hasn’t had a dependable point guard who is mainly a distributor in several seasons. Lowry doesn’t need to score a lot of points to be effective.
Russell was the team’s main point guard last season but he’s much more of a scorer than a passer. The Lakers could benefit from having a distributor running the offense.
What About Chris Paul?
A player who might be even more appealing to the Lakers is Chris Paul. He’s technically under contract with the Golden State Warriors next season but they can let him go without having to take on his salary. Paul is older than Lowry at 39 but has been a more productive player in recent years.
Paul was coming off the bench for the first time in his career this season but still managed 6.8 assists a game. He’s been linked to the Lakers for over a decade and the star could finally be aligning for him to make it happen. Paul’s family lives in Los Angeles so being able to stay close to them could be appealing.
Plus, he’d be able to play with close friend LeBron James. If the Lakers sign either Paul or Lowry, they’ll need to add some depth pieces at guard. Both of them are very old for NBA players and missed over 20 games last season. They aren’t players the Lakers should ride hard during the regular season. They’ll need them as fresh as possible for the playoffs.
