4 Familiar Faces to Reunite With.

The Los Angeles Lakers are entering a pivotal offseason. Who they will hire as their new head coach and how they will bolster their roster will determine how the final few seasons of LeBron James’s career will go.

The Lakers don’t have extensive cap space but they have an ability to create more via trades. They also have three first-round picks that they can move to bring in more help around James and Anthony Davis.

Fortunately for them, there are plenty of familiar faces on the free agent market or the trade block. These former Lakers would be excellent additions to this roster and general manager Rob Pelinka should seriously consider acquiring them. Let’s take a look.

1. Malik Monk

The 26-year-old shooting guard is an unrestricted free agent this summer and he is exactly what the Lakers need.

Monk spent the first four seasons of his career with the Charlotte Hornets before signing a one-year deal with the Lakers in the summer of 2021. In Los Angeles, Monk was able to revive his career and establish himself as a solid scorer from all three levels of the floor. He was so good with the Lakers that season that he played himself out of a contract, ending up in Sacramento on a two-year deal.

In Sacramento, Monk continued his development. He averaged a career-high in points and assists per game in the 2023-24 season, finishing with 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. He is one of the best sixth men in the league, with an ability to start when needed.

The Lakers need more shot creators from the perimeter. Monk can run the pick-and-roll, get to the rim, and be an off-ball threat with his shooting ability. If the Lakers can afford to bring him in, Monk should be high on their free agency shortlist.

2. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

One of the biggest mistakes the Lakers front office has ever made was trading away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope back in 2021. After four straight seasons of high-end two-way play, the Lakers moved on from KCP to trade for Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards. That trade proved to be a complete disaster for the Lakers.

Los Angeles has been looking for two-way wings ever since while Caldwell-Pope is as consistent and productive as ever. He won another ring with the Denver Nuggets, regularly guarding the best perimeter players on the other team while hitting 40% of his threes. There simply aren’t too many players with his skill set in the league.

At age 31, Caldwell-Pope should be able to maintain his level of play for another few seasons. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer and if the Nuggets cheap out on him, the Lakers have to do everything they can to bring him back. This includes exploring sign-and-trade possibilities. A floor-spacer with no weaknesses in his game is exactly what LeBron James & Anthony Davis need.

3. Alex Caruso

Another member of the Lakers 2020 championship team, Alex Caruso is another guard who has been thriving ever since leaving Los Angeles. Caruso, who the Lakers decided to not keep when his contract was up in the summer of 2021, has been one of the best defenders in the league since.

After the Lakers refused to pay him in 2021, Caruso signed a four-year, $37 million deal with the Chicago Bulls. Even though the Bulls have been an utter disappointment for the last couple of seasons, Caruso has consistently been one of their best players, significantly outplaying his contract.

Now, he is entering the final year of his contract and his making less than $10 million per year makes him a fascinating trade candidate for the Lakers.

Despite being 30 years old, Caruso just finished his healthiest and most productive season, playing a career-high 71 games for Chicago. He averaged a whopping 1.7 steals and 1 block per game, firmly establishing himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.

His skill set is exactly what the Lakers need: knock down three-point shots, set your teammates up, and guard the best offensive player on the other team. It will take at least a first-round pick to trade for him but the Lakers need to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

4. Kyle Kuzma

He has been forgotten in Washington but Kyle Kuzma has been having productive seasons with the Wizards ever since he was traded there as part of the Russell Westbrook trade. In 2023-24, he averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, maturing into an experienced veteran and a team leader.

At age 28, Kuzma is playing the best basketball of his career. He has improved his playmaking on the offensive end and his intensity and effort on the defensive side of the ball. As a combo forward with an ability to guard multiple positions, he is still a good fit with the Lakers.

Kuzma was a first-round pick of the Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft. He spent the first four seasons of his career there, averaging 15.2 points. He was never the most efficient of scorers or most dangerous of three-point shooters, but his shot selection and offensive process have improved significantly over the years.

The former Utah standout is on a fascinating declining contract. He is due $23 million for next season but that amount declines over the next three seasons. For a highly productive player in a position of need, that is a team-friendly deal. If the Lakers can trade for him without giving up a good first-round pick, they should seriously consider it. Since the Wizards are rebuilding and not going anywhere, he should be acquirable by the Lakers.