Once an afterthought of a way to sign players midseason, the buyout market has morphed into a real resource for contending teams to potentially find a key piece that could help put them over the top. The Lakers are well aware of the impact a buyout player can have, with Markieff Morris serving a vital role with the title-winning team in 2020. Nailing those types of signings is rare, but can prove vitally important in late-season runs.
This year, the Lakers placed a bigger emphasis on landing that type of player in the buyout market by not making any moves at the trade deadline.