If the Lakers do make a salary-dumping move this offseason, odds are reportedly in favor of Christian Wood or Cam Reddish being the players shipped out.
The Lakers have done little in free agency so far, but at some point, things will change.
I think.
As it stands, the Lakers sit at a full roster of 15 players without a single new player joining the roster outside of the team’s two draft picks in Dalton Knecht and Bronny James. While a certain former site manager might enjoy that he could use a certain video on Twitter throughout the year if the Lakers run it back next season, that doesn’t seem likely.
To bring someone in, though, a subsequent move will most likely need to be made in the way of a salary dump. And while there are a couple of options, two names reportedly stand out above the others.
In his latest YouTube video, Jovan Buha of The Athletic discussed that Christian Wood and Cam Reddish are the most likely players to be salary dumped.
“As I’ve also said before on here, I’ve heard Christian Wood and Cam Reddish would be the two most likely guys to be salary dumped. Now, maybe a team pushes to get Jaxson Hayes and when it comes down to it, the Lakers decided there isn’t much a difference between Hayes and Wood but my understanding, the Lakers would prioritize keeping Hayes in comparison with Hayes and Reddish.”
As Buha more or less points out, the Lakers probably aren’t in a position where they can be choosers. But when it comes to minimum contract players, teams aren’t particularly bothered by who the player is, but rather what the draft pick or asset that comes with them is.
And it makes sense to prefer Jaxson Hayes of the trio. He was the only way getting rotation minutes at the end of the season last year, though Christian Wood was dealing with an injury at that time. Still, he was the biggest positive of the group and could have a defined role next season as the team’s backup center.
There’s a chance they don’t have to make any move like this if they, instead, execute a bigger 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 trade, but the odds are far more likely that they offload a smaller contract.
Even if the Lakers haven’t made a move yet, something is coming down the tracks still.
Probably.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
