Lakers face big decisions ahead of free agency's start

Three of the players obtained by the Lakers in a flurry of deadline deals require contract decisions before free agency officially begins Friday at 6 PM ET. Center Mo Bamba has a non-guaranteed $10.3 million contract, shooting guard Malik Beasley has a $16.5 M team option and Jarred Vanderbilt's $4.6 M is only guaranteed for $300K.

The decision on Vanderbilt is easy. The 24-year-old forward started 24 games for the Lakers after coming over from the Utah Jazz, averaging 7.2 points and 6.7 rebounds. His energy and defense were invaluable alongside the older LeBron James and Anthony Davis and $4.6M is a bargain for his services.

Bamba and Beasley did not contribute as much, although Beasley did shoot 35 percent from three-point range while averaging 11.1 points. Injuries limited Bamba to just nine games. They would both provide good regular-season depth, but the question is how ambitious the Lakers want to get.

Los Angeles has the ability to bring back most of their free agents at any price. Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves are restricted free agents and the team has D'Angelo Russell's Bird rights, meaning they can pay him whatever they want regardless of the salary cap. Only Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV are limited to 120 percent raises.

The advantage of picking up the contracts of Bamba and Beasley is that they are excellent trade pieces for matching salaries when Los Angeles inevitably tries to add pieces mid-season. They're also solid – if unspectacular – players.

The downside? The Lakers could get much more ambitious about outside free agents. Depending on how much their other free agents sign for, dropping the salaries in question could allow the Lakers to take a swing at more expensive outside free agents or potentially use the mid-level exception.

But perhaps the Lakers simply want to see the team that made a run to the Western Conference Finals get a full training camp and regular season together. And then should Rob Pelinka decides to make a move at the deadline, the combined $26.8 million could get someone pretty good. Or at the very least, someone represented by Klutch Sports.