LA has one open roster spot to burn.
One of the top names on the buyout market, shooting guard Terrence Ross, is already off the board, and he will not be joining your Los Angeles Lakers, unfortunately.
The 6’6″ vet, 32, was bought out by his longtime team, the Orlando Magic, on Saturday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Woj reports today that Ross intends to link up with one of the new favorites in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns, to help bolster the team’s depth around big-money starters Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton.
Per Woj, the Dallas Mavericks (featuring All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, a former teammate of Durant’s with the Brooklyn Nets and a possible free agent target for the Lakers) had been favored to land Ross’s services. News Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia and head coach Monty Williams were able to talk Ross into joining Phoenix by hyping up their title odds this year.
Money might also provide something of an incentive.
Dallas’ offer is limited to a pro-rated minimum contract, which is worth about $900K, points out Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype reports that the Mavericks would be able to pay Ross a pro-rated minimum contract worth around $900K, but the Suns have $5.2 million remaining of its mid-level exception to use. Contract details have yet to be released, so it’s possible that the Suns may not pay Ross any more than the Mavericks had to offer.
Ross, a 38.1% three-point shooter on 3.8 attempts in 42 games this season, could have been an excellent fit on the revamped Lakers, who are hungry to win and could use as much three-point shooting as they can get.
