Hill, Sacre want to return to Lakers; Davis unhappy with sitting
A 19-53 season hasn't been enough to turn players off of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
That was head coach Byron Scott's refrain on the weekend when asked if free agents would still want to wear the forum blue and gold after two terrible seasons, and the current roster is backing up Scott's claim. Of course, the current roster is filled with players who may not make other rosters, so maybe that shouldn't be surprising.
In any case, potential free agents Jordan Hill and Robert Sacre both want to be back with the club for 2015-16.
"I've had fun here and love the staff," Hill said following Sunday's loss to the Brooklyn Nets. "I love my teammates. But you'll never know if you'll be back."
While Hill's counting stats are at career-high levels – he's averaging 12.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists – his play has regressed appreciably, particularly on the defensive end. The 27-year-old remains a strong rebounder with decent offensive efficiency metrics, but the Lakers have been 8.4 points per-100 possessions worse with him on the floor.
Considering the Lakers hold a prohibitive $9-million player option on Hill for next season, if he returns, it's likely to be on a new deal. That's simply too much money for a role player, and not a very good one.
Sacre would come much cheaper thanks to his $981,348 non-guaranteed contract for next season. And he wants to come back, too, because who else would give Robert Sacre 1,000 minutes in back-to-back years?
"I would love to be back here," Sacre said recently. "It would be fun. You're a Laker. What else can you ask for?"
The Canadian center is averaging 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game, shooting 40 percent from the floor. His value comes more from camaraderie and end-of-bench celebrations, which are great to have, but it may not be worth tying up a roster spot for through the summer.
The one big man the Lakers would surely love to have back is Ed Davis, who will opt out of his $1.1-million player option for next year this summer. Davis is having a great year, averaging 8.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 61.4 percent, and had said he hopes to re-sign with the team, but they didn't do themselves any favors in asking him to rest Saturday.
"Honestly, I don't like it," Davis said postgame. "I didn't ask to sit out or anything. I wanted to play 82 games this year."
The lefty is sure to have more suitors this summer than last and it's tough to figure whether any Lakers will be back given the abundance of options and cap space the team will enter the offseason with.