After striking out at the trade deadline, the Lakers should aggressively pursue Orlando shooting guard Gary Harris if he gets bought out. The key to getting him to sign with the Lakers could be a promise he would be a starter.
Harris is a 27-year old, 6′ 5,” 210 lbs veteran shooting guard who averaged 11.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 29.5 minutes per game and will likely be one of the highly sought players in this season’s buyout market. Used to playing off the ball and reliably good on defense, Gary shot 44.4% from the field, 38.8% on 4.9 threes per game, and a sterling 84.4% from the line. He would immediately be the best two-way guard on the Lakers’ roster.
The competition to sign Gary Harris if he’s bought out will be intense and the Lakers are not the post-season favorite they were the previous two seasons when they signed buyout players Markieff Morris and Andre Drummond. Offering Gary a chance to start for the Los Angeles Lakers and compete for an NBA championship alongside superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis could be intoxicating for a young player heading into free agency.
For a young player like Gary, a chance to start and play for the big market Los Angeles Lakers could be the best brand marketing move he could make to raise his value as a player. No other team can the visibility the Lakers can. Harris would be a great fit on the Lakers both short and long-term. He could even earn a rotation role and a new contract with the Lakers. Even though this is his ninth season in the league, he’s still only just 27-years old.
The Lakers should prioritize looking for buyout players who could be viable starters alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis and then using the opportunity to start as their primary pitch to get them to sign with Lakers.
The idea of promising starting minutes to lure a highly sought buyout player was first brought up yesterday in an Anthony Irwin tweet for Goran Dragic.
Lakers could bring Russ off the bench as 6th man and start Dragic and Harris and a third starter. Just need a true small forward on the buyout market.