5 Bargain free agents Los Angeles Lakers should target in 2017

Donatas Motiejunas, C, New Orleans Pelicans

Before you start laughing, hear me out. Donatas Motiejunas isn’t an exciting big man by any means, but the Lakers will likely need a cheap depth piece at center heading into 2017-18. That is, if the team opts to decline Tarik Black’s option.

Black is a solid piece of the roster, but the Lakers may not want to pay him the $6.6 million he’s owed. The emergence of Ivica Zubac could facilitate his departure from Los Angeles, which would leave the team with only two options at center–Timofey Mozgov and Zubac. Adding another low-cost contributor would be ideal.

Not long ago, Motiejunas was seen as a decent center who could hold his own as a backup paint presence. While his stock has seen a steep decline in the last year or so, I still believe he can make a noticeable impact if given a chance. He wasn’t anything spectacular with the New Orleans Pelicans this past season, but he proved he could still play a few minutes per game without embarrassing himself.

Motiejunas signed with the Pelicans for the veteran minimum this past season. Based on the way he played in 34 appearances, I wouldn’t imagine that price going up much (if at all). The Lakers can use all of the capable options they can get, especially within their thin frontcourt.