NBA free agency is about three weeks away, and it’s not a great crop of free agents. Teams are trying to get tax-compliant, as the tax aprons have messed with a plenty of future plans, and many teams are trying to save money for the 2026 offseason when players like Luka Dončić, Damian Lillard, Trae Young, Aaron Gordon and more could be available.
That will force expensive teams, like the Los Angeles Lakers, to hunt in the bargain bin and look for players who fill out the edges of the roster and play meaningful minutes when needed.
One player the Lakers could look to target is LA Clippers wing Amir Coffey. When you have playmakers and scorers as talented as Dončić and LeBron James, surrounding them with shooting and positional versatility matters. Coffey is coming off his best season in his six years in the NBA, averaging a career-high 9.7 points per game in 72 appearances while shooting 40.9 percent from 3 on 3.4 attempts per game.
With Coffey listed at 6-foot-7, he can slot in about anywhere on the wing, and shouldn’t be too expensive. He’s coming off a three-year, $11 million contract extension with the Clippers and should be gettable for around the same price, despite being mentioned as one of the top available small forwards in free agency.
The Lakers only have about $5.6 million in tax space to play with, so Coffey could be their one main target if they can’t close on a center like they desperately need. Though they were playing Dorian Finney-Smith and Rui Hachimura at center in the playoffs, it may be easier to trade for a center rather than trying to sign one.
