5 roster moves the Los Angeles Lakers must make this offseason

Moves the Los Angeles Lakers need to make this offseason: Let Kent Bazemore and Wayne Ellington walk in free agency

Speaking of seasoned veterans, two players that the Lakers brought aboard last offseason were Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore. Given that they both agreed to minimum deals during their free agency period and had been established role players in this league for a long time, Ellington and Bazemore looked like solid additions to the Lakers on impact. Yet, neither quite panned out as many had initially hoped.

Ellington found himself in and out of the nightly rotation, but he put up some solid numbers when he was fortunate enough to play. The guard averaged 6.7 points per game while knocking down a solid 38.9 percent of his triples on 4.9 attempts, as he provided some quality scoring and shooting off the bench.

While the Lakers could use a decent three-point shooter like Ellington next season, they could look to move on from him for two reasons. First, a significant reason why the veteran did not see much time this season was because he was a defensive liability, and the Lakers need to target players that can help on that side of the basketball. Second, Ellington is 34 years old, and LA may look to get younger, which they should.

As for Bazemore, the Lakers seemingly envisioned that he could carve out a role for himself when they brought him in, but that did not exactly pan out. The 32-year-old appeared in 39 contests and averaged a mere 14 minutes per game, the third-fewest in his career.

When he did receive playing time, Bazemore did not impress, as he averaged a lackluster 3.4 points while hitting 32.4 percent of his shots from the floor. He had a chance to make a name for himself defensively, but the wing failed in that regard as well, having struggled mightily. The Lakers should and almost certainly will let Bazemore walk in free agency to pursue other players that can contribute at a higher level.