Taking a closer look at seven names the Los Angeles Lakers should target after being granted their disabled player exception
After tearing his ACL, DeMarcus Cousins suffered another disappointing setback on his journey to rebuild his image and acquire the lucrative contract that he desires. Cousins will likely be out for the rest of the season and will need to prove himself upon return (definitely surpassing the inconsistent production he showed in Golden State).
But as for his team, the Los Angeles Lakers were put in a tough position and forced to scour the free-agent market at a moments notice, especially given the limited frontcourt depth they had.
In the aftermath of working him out and meeting with him, the Lakers managed to sign Dwight Howard to a non-guaranteed deal to temporarily address their gap at the center position, but to fully maximize their loss and expand their spending flexibility, they shortly applied for the disabled player exception in the second week of September, and on Thursday, Shams Charania reported the NBA’s approval of the player exception worth $1.75, which would expire on March 10, 2020.
As of today, the Lakers essentially have two options: they can either sign that free agent now or be patient to see how their roster and record look come March, i.e., potential injury/chemistry issues, and look to claim a player off of waivers or trade for a player on an expiring deal.
Regardless, focusing solely on the list of free agents available today, here are seven players the Lakers should consider looking into.