5. Move on from Jared Dudley.
Jared Dudley, a 13-year veteran in the NBA signed a veteran’s minimum last offseason. Fortunately for the Lakers, they did not require him to do much this season. He has never been a big numbers guy but last season was his worst ever.
Dudley only averaged 1.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 8.1 minutes per game. He played 45 games, even starting one. He only took 1.3 shots per game, and 0.9 of these were beyond the 3-point line.
While he made 42.9 percent of his shots from deep, Dudley is barely able to play at an NBA level. He is 35 years old and playing power forward at only 6’6″. He was buried even further down the bench when the Lakers signed Markieff Morris off waivers.
To put it simply, the Lakers need to find a player who has a greater upside, should they be struck by injury next season. They can no longer select one in the draft, as they have agreed to send their first-round pick to the OKC Thunder.
However, there will be a large number of free agents lining up to sign a deal with last year’s champions. There are plenty of options on the open market for the Lakers to sign at a veteran’s minimum.