The Phoenix Suns filled out their final roster spot. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Isaiah Wainwright to a two-year, two and a half million dollar deal with the team option on the second season, and you might be wondering how this affects the Los Angeles Lakers.
Well, the Phoenix Suns were eyeing two players who could end up being potential additions for the Lakers if they’re looking to fill their final roster spot, those players being Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony. Derrick Rose is a guy who the Lakers have had trade interest in the past a few seasons ago and also he really hasn’t been getting to play in New York as of late; he’s been out of the rotation and Tom Thibodeau keeps a pretty short rotation so it’s unlikely that he’ll really end up getting minutes in their rotation, and for Carmelo Anthony after a good year with the Lakers it was surprising to see that he did not end up getting signed to a team for this season and at this point we’re near the end of the year, and he still hasn’t been signed to a roster, so maybe if a team is looking to bolster their shooting ahead of playoff time it could be an opportunity for Carmelo Anthony to go out there and hoop again.
It’s surprising to see that he’s not on the Lakers. some more firepower, some more scoring ability, and I think that Carmelo Anthony and Derek Rose could both be guys who bring that, so the Phoenix Suns filling out that final roster spot is good news for the Lakers when you look at it from that aspect. I mean, Carmelo Anthony could be a guy who could space the floor for you on the wing, and Derrick Rose could also space the floor for you at the guard spot. He could also help run the offence if you want to give him some minutes in the rotation.
I just think that adding one more option ahead of the playoffs isn’t exactly a bad idea. I mean, we saw D’Angelo Russell end up getting measured recently and now he’s day to day moving forward, but he might miss that game in Dallas, so having an additional playmaker out there like Derrick Rose could be a good idea if you’re the Lakers. Just adding more depth to this team could never be a bad idea, especially if you’re trying to position yourself to make a playoff run and you want to get LeBron James and Anthony Davis the proper rest, having more guys in the rotation could help out with that, and you never know sometimes guys you don’t expect end up being impact players in the NBA.
I mean, Derrick Rose hasn’t been playing in New York and Carmelo Anthony currently isn’t in the league, but look at teams like the Warriors; they added Gary Payton II right before their championship run season, and he ended up being a huge player for their team; he helped out a lot and was keyed down the stretch of the season. I just think that having a full 15-man roster heading into the playoffs could be a good idea for the Lakers, so maybe looking at guys like Melo and Derrick Rose could be an option for them.