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Tracker: Every player the Lakers have been connected to in free agency

The Lakers are already the subject of plenty of NBA free agency rumors, something that will only continue as the offseason rolls along.

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2020 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers v Miami Heat Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The 2021 NBA free agency moratorium, when teams can begin negotiating with players, officially opens on Monday, Aug. 2, at 3 p.m. PT. But the rumors about where this year’s free agents will go started well, well before then. And in what has become an annual tradition on this website, we’ll be trying to keep track of all of them.

So without further ado, below is a list of every Lakers free agent and player they’ve been connected to in free agency, sorted alphabetically in two lists: Players that are still available that have been connected to the Lakers (including their own free agents!), and players that are reportedly heading elsewhere.

We will be doing our best to keep this as up to date as we can with as many reputable reports as possible, so if you don’t want to endlessly scroll Twitter waiting for every update, or live and die by Shams and Woj alerts on your phone, then bookmark this page, kick back and join the discussion in the comments below.

Available players connected to the Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers v New Orleans Pelicans Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Avery Bradley

  • Shams Charania of The Athletic reported after the Houston Rockets waived Bradley that “contenders and teams that Bradley previously played for are expected to have strong interest in him.” While he didn’t explicitly name the Lakers, they are both a contender and team Bradley previously played for.

Darren Collison

Isaiah Thomas

JaKarr Sampson

James Ennis

Kenneth Faried

Kevin Love

  • Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that there are whispers around the league that the Cavaliers and Love are working on a buyout. He has not been explicitly connected to the Lakers, but with college teammate Russell Westbrook and fellow Cavaliers champion LeBron James aboard, that feels like only a matter of time.
  • That said, for now, Love’s agent is denying that his client has any interest in a buyout. Which is exactly what someone who wants all their money and is not taking a discount on a buyout would say.

Mike James

  • Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that James — who played for the Brooklyn Nets last season — was one of three players to work out for the Lakers in early August.

Tim Frazier

Wesley Matthews

  • Matthews said repeatedly during his exit interview that he wants to “run it back” for a second year in purple and gold.

Players who actually signed with the Lakers

Portland Trail Blazers v Los Angeles Lakers - Game Five Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Carmelo Anthony

DeAndre Jordan

Kendrick Nunn

Kent Bazemore

  • Bazemore was literally never connected to the team by rumors prior to free agency, but is joining the roster nonetheless on a one-year deal.

Malik Monk

Rajon Rondo

Talen Horton-Tucker

Trevor Ariza

Wayne Ellington

Players connected to the Lakers who went elsewhere

2020 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers v Miami Heat Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Alex Caruso

Andre Drummond

Andre Iguodala

Ben McLemore

Damian Jones

Danny Green

DeMar DeRozan

  • League insiders expected DeRozan to consider heading home to Los Angeles on a discount, but Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that the possibility of him doing so was “eliminated” when the Lakers traded Kyle Kuzma, who the Spurs would have taken for DeRozan in a theoretical sign-and-trade.
  • Sam Amick of The Athletic similarly reported that DeRozan “had serious interest in finding a way to play for his hometown Lakers via sign-and-trade with San Antonio, but the Westbrook move ended that possibility.”
  • It appears that was true, because DeRozan is now heading to the Bulls on a three-year, $85 million deal. Just slightly more than the $5.9 million annually the Lakers could offer. Lol.
  • Previously, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that DeRozan would be willing to take a pay cut to join the Lakers, and DeRozan called joining the team he grew up rooting for “a great opportunity.”

Dennis Schröder

Goran Dragic

Jared Dudley

Jeff Green

Lou Williams

Markieff Morris

Patty Mills

Reggie Bullock

Rudy Gay

Svi Mykhailiuk

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.

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