Everything really does come full circle for the Lakers in free agency. For evidence, one doesn’t have to look any further than the return of Kent Bazemore, and the context he left under.
In 2014, the Lakers decided to prioritize keeping Ryan Kelly over Bazemore, declining to even give the latter the qualifying offer that would have made him a restricted free agent after he impressed down the stretch following his acquisition in a midseason trade with the Warriors.
Why? The team wanted to chase Carmelo Anthony in free agency.
We all know how that went.