The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

THE big question for the Lakers now is how they can further improve their roster in free agency.

They have holes to fill after trading the likes of Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart, in order to acquire Davis. They would presumably like to add a third star player to the roster as well.

Current Brooklyn Nets point guard and former Lakers first round pick, number two overall, D’Angelo Russell, currently appears to be at the top of the Lakers’ wish list.

Russell would be a good addition on multiple levels.He can fill the void at point guard left by Ball, and he can add a bit of three-point shooting to the offensive end of the court - he made 36.8 per cent of his attempts last season - something the Lakers will desperately need around James and Davis.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers have serious interest in bringing back former draft pick D’Angelo Russell.

“The Lakers have some options here, but D’Angelo Russell is at the top of that list,” Wojnarowski said.

Fred Roggin of NBC Los Angeles highlighted that the Lakers have indeed set up a meeting with Russell, as soon as free agency opens.

Only 23 years old and coming off a campaign in which he averaged 21.1 points and 7.0 assists per game on an effective 36.9 per cent shooting from beyond the arc, Russell won’t have any shortage of suitors on the free agency market.

The Nets are still very much in play to re-sign their starting point guard, although their priorities remain on signing free agents Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to max-level deals.

If the Lakers are serious about pursuing Russell, then the team is going to need to bring in veteran players on the minimum in order to keep that cap space for the young point guard.

Carmelo Anthony is one of the few players, alongside other rumoured target JR Smith and 2018 Laker fan favourite JaVale McGee, that can sign that kind of deal and still contribute.

The importance here is Anthony’s role and the Lakers, and LeBron making sure that he is familiar and willing to take on this lesser role. He won’t be a starter, he might not even play more than 15 minutes per game.

However, he can become a valuable bench piece that can come in and provide off-ball scoring.

Anthony shot over 35 per cent from beyond the arc with the Thunder. If he can come out and knock down 2-3 threes and score around 10 a game then it will be a win for the Lakers.

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