Lakers News: LA Misses Out On Another Top Buyout Market Free Agent
The NBA’s 2024 buyout market is already moving quickly. After your Los Angeles Lakers locked in free agent LA native point guard Spencer Dinwiddie to a $1.5 million rest-of-year contract earlier today, top available veteran pieces like center Bismack Biyombo are already off the board. But perhaps the biggest name on the buyout market, six-time All-Star, one-time champ and probable future Hall of Famer Kyle Lowry, is now also spoken for.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Lowry has negotiated a buyout of his current salary with the Charlotte Hornets, and is planning to suit up for his hometown Philadelphia 76ers. Essentially, in inking Dinwiddie to a deal, Los Angeles prioritized the 6’5″ Colorado product over the 37-year-old Lowry, who’s been past his prime ever since he joined the Miami Heat. Will the Purple and Gold live to regret this decision? Simply put, no. By the end of his Heat tenure, Lowry had been demoted to a bench role, and was at times borderline unplayable, even on a club desperate for help at the point. Although Dinwiddie, 30, is in the midst of a down year, he did start all 48 games for which he was available with the Brooklyn Nets, prior to being flipped to the Toronto Raptors and promptly waived. His three-point shooting has fallen off, to just 32% on 5.8 attempts. Should that return to its Dallas Mavericks-era efficacy (40.4% and 40.5%), he’ll become a lethal contributor off the bench backing up D’Angelo Russell.
