Lakers free agency: Lakers exercising option on Robert Sacre's contract

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to keep Robert Sacre on their roster and will "pick up" the final year of his contract, reports Shams Charania of Real GM. Sacre is set to make $981,348 through the 2015-2016 season, though the Lakers could have waived his contract and moved on without any salary penalties. Los Angeles has until June 30 to finalize whether or not to pick up the fully non-guaranteed deal for the 60th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, but reports point to them sticking with the big man out of Gonzaga as one of their backup centers.

Sacre played a career high 16.9 minutes per game with the Lakers last season, hitting the court for 67 games. He's a cheap option for the Lakers, who are positioning themselves for maximum flexibility as they rebuild. The Lakers also have a $9 million team option to decide on for Jordan Hill, while Ed Davis is expected to decline his $1.1 million player option to test free agency.

Sacre has been one of the few Lakers players with a clean bill of health over the last three seasons and is a solid end of the rotation big man. He's mobile, rarely plays out of his comfort zone, and his contract will not prevent the Lakers from pursuing maximum-level talent during free agency. The Lakers still need players to fill out their roster, and keeping Sacre around who's been a high-character teammate by all accounts isn't a surprising outcome.