The Lakers may have missed out on Paul George, but they still have the money to make a run at free agents. One area they're exploring is the restricted free agency market. They reportedly met with Rockets big man Clint Capela and now they've been connected to another frontcourt restricted free agent.
According to Marc Spears of The Undefeated, the Lakers are a team to "keep an eye on" for Magic forward Aaron Gordon. This could get pricey for Los Angeles, because Gordon wants a max contract. He's been adamant about that entering the summer and, while he's indicated he wants to stay in Orlando, the Magic can match any offer Gordon makes. By convincing a team like the Lakers to offer him a max deal, he puts pressure on the Magic to match it.
It's interesting to see that the Lakers are looking at another potential max contract restricted free agent. They started off free agency with the intention of signing big name stars like LeBron James, George or trading for Kawhi Leonard. Gordon would be a decent consolation signing, but he's still young and needs time to grow. The Lakers seem like a team that wants to win sooner rather than later.
Of course, the Magic need to decide if they even want to match a max contract deal with Gordon. They drafted Mohamed Bamba a couple of weeks ago, and they already have Jonathan Isaac on the roster. That's a lot of length and size in the frontcourt. There are questions if Gordon can co-exist with those two. If the Magic aren't sure of that, then they might be willing to let Gordon walk if the price gets too high.
