Mar 24, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) is greeted by guard Austin Reaves (15) after scoring a basket and drawing the foul against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA offseason is fast approaching and three teams could be poised to make huge mistakes with their NBA free-agent signings.
This offseason plenty of mistakes will be made by teams. These mistakes could derail rebuilds or set back teams approaching title contention. Sometimes a mistake is signing the wrong player, sometimes it’s signing the right player but to a much larger contract. And sometimes, the mistake is letting a free agent go when you have the chance to keep them.
Given the current landscape, these are three looming mistakes that needed to be avoided this offseason.
NBA free agent signings that would be a mistake: 3. Lakers not matching offers for Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura
The L.A. Lakers made the Western Conference Finals after a very weird year where they were the No. 13 seed in the middle of the season. The Lakers got huge contributions from Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura down the stretch and during the postseason.
Both of these players are restricted free agents this season — this means that L.A. has control over whether these players leave or not. Any team could offer any contract, but the Lakers have the option to match. However, that could set the price higher than they are realistically able to pay.
With the Lakers’ previous concern about their luxury tax, there is a small chance that they will not be able to match both deals. Also, both of these players have made a lot more money in the last couple of months which has increased their earning potential.
Although the Lakers’ biggest concern should be to replace D’Angelo Russell with a more suitable starting point guard, keeping these two players is a big concern. If LeBron James and Anthony Davis want to contend for a title next season, they will need Reaves and Hachimura in purple and gold.