The Los Angeles Lakers have been the busiest team during this offseason. With their 2020-21 season ending in a disappointing first-round exit, the Lakers’ front office led by Rob Pelinka completely chose to transform the team.
Only LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Talen Horton-Tucker were retained by the Lakers. The biggest move LA made was trading Kyle Kuzma, KCP, and Montrezl Harrell in exchange for Russell Westbrook to form a big three to compete with Brooklyn.
On top of that, the Lakers signed several veteran players like Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, DeAndre Jordan, Wayne Ellington, and Kent Bazemore.
But understanding the need for youthful players, the Lakers also were able to sign Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk to team-friendly deals. The Lakers have very quickly built a solid championship contender which has their fans excited for the next season.
But the Lakers do have one more roster spot open, for which they have not made any signing yet. And it appears that they are looking to the forgotten players remaining free-agent market to find their final piece.
According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, the Lakers will be inviting former Nuggets star Kenneth Faried for a try-out this week. Faried last played for the Houston Rockets in the NBA, before making the move to China in 2019. Since then, he has struggled to find a new home in the NBA.
Free agent big man Kenneth Faried is working out for the Lakers this week, a league source told @TheAthleticNBA.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) September 13, 2021
Most recently, Faried, along with Michael Beasley, played for Portland Trail Blazers’ roster for the 2021 NBA Summer League. But that stint didn’t result in the Blazers offering Faried a deal for the next season.
Faried was a dominant yet mobile big during his stint in the NBA and found success with the Denver Nuggets. Singing him would provide the Lakers with yet another option at the center spot, especially if Anthony Davis is adamant about playing the power forward role in the team.
