The Los Angeles Lakers front office is facing a significant amount of personnel decisions this summer. They went all in this season by making a flurry of moves during the NBA trade deadline, which has now left them with a handful of players that are now set to enter NBA free agency this summer.
Two of those players are Lonnie Walker IV and Malik Beasley. Neither of these two are stars and they aren't exactly the most important players on the roster, but still, it will be very interesting to see how the Lakers decide to act with regard to the future of these two studs now that they are both expected to enter NBA free agency this summer.
For starters, Lonnie Walker's current contract will come to an end after this season. Thanks to his strong showing this year for the Lakers, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard is expected to command a bigger deal in free agency compared to the $6.5 million he pocketed this past season. According to an anonymous Western Conference executive, the Lakers might not be able to meet Walker's demands:
“I can’t see how they can pay him, he is probably a goner,” the exec told Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
As for Beasley, the Lakers actually have a team option on his contract for next season. If LA decides to pick it up, they will need to pay the 26-year-old veteran $16.5 million for 2023-24 — something that the Lakers seem inclined to do, per the same unnamed executive:
“He can be a contributor, really on any team,” the exec said. “The expectation is they’ll keep him. He can be a good trade piece if you need one. It’s just, if the tax is a big worry, he’d be the easy piece to move off of.”
It is worth noting that the Lakers also have some big decisions to make on the futures of Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura, to name a few, also this summer. As such, it would not be surprising if LA comes out with an entirely new squad in 2023-24.
Follow Us
Subscribe