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Aron Baynes, A Laker



Tuesday, 24th November 2015: Well with the season getting underway this week its time to wrap up the pre-season news.  Today we will look at two final transactions which were undertaken by the Lakers last week. 

RFA or Not?: During the first free agency wave gm greenmig had looked at bruiser Aron Baynes as a potential target.  With the departure of Henry Sims to the D-League it was deemed that the team needed one more big to bolster the frontline trio of Chandler, Hill and Plumlee. Baynes has always been a guy which banged the boards and banged other players – two traits which gm greenmig likes to see in his big men, besides he is an Aussie! However unfortunately he was an RFA, or so we thought?  Well he was until the now departed gm houndy messed up his math turning Baynes essentially into a UFA as was exposed by NLL insider.  But whilst at the start of free agency they had cap space, the problem was the Lakers had now spent it.  Needing to move about $1.5M some options were explored and a deal found with the Orlando Magic.

Bye Bye Mo Buckets: Unfortunately in this league to get an asset you generally have to move an asset – there are few freebies.  And in this case, it was time to send off two fan favourite veterans in Marreese Speights and Garrett Temple.

Hello James’ Johnson and McAdoo: In exchange for Speights the Lakers received from Orlando defensive stopper and general utility / tough guy, James Johnson as well as prospect James Michael McAdoo.  Both of these players are 6’9 and essentially play PF.  Johnson able to play some SF and guard opposing wings with his excellent size.  McAdoo is a great looking athlete who is just learning the game.  But, perhaps the key to the deal was the Lakers opened up about and additional $1.5M.  Sufficient to go after Baynes.

Target Acquired: There were only three teams able to afford the 6’10 big man, those being Charlotte, Toronto and LA Lakers.  But as the bidding deadline approached it was clear that both Toronto and Charlotte had realised that with the Lakers making a pitch, their chances of gaining Baynes’ signature were slim.  At this stage Baynes is slated to play some minor backup minutes behind the trio of Laker big men mentioned earlier.

With the signing of Baynes this brought to the end a relatively fruitful free agency period for the team who were able to acquire their main target in Tyson Chandler as well as three veterans in Felton, Copeland and Baynes.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more from your Lakers basketball network.

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