Who should the Los Angeles Lakers look to sign to bolster their roster?

Executives around the NBA believe that the Los Angeles Lakers need a backup player to LeBron James. Even the greats such as Magic Johnson have shed their views about the Lakers missing the third piece around Anthony Davis and Lebron James. However, the Lakers still stand unchanged, entering the second half of the tournament with the best record in West.

Although keeping quiet around the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers are keeping their eyes open at the buyout market as they would not mind a valuable addition to the roster. They have tried their hands on players like Darren Collison and Reggie Jackson, but have not been able to pull off the deal. Their biggest rival in West, the Los Angeles Clippers, have been one step ahead of the Lakers in this regard.

The Clippers added Marcus Morris to the roster during the trade deadline. With Morris, they have greater depth and a more reliable scorer who further bolsters the roster.

The Clippers also picked up Reggie Jackson from the buyout market recently, beating the Lakers to it. It is reportedly said that Jackson's relations with Paul George were the reason for this signing going the Clippers' way.

With a few options left for the Los Angeles Lakers, they still have eyes on players like JR Smith, Isaiah Thomas, and Dion Waiters. Out of these three, many see Isaiah Thomas as a great option for the Lakers.

The ex-Boston superstar is a prolific scorer, who can knock down the three-pointers, consistently. He can also move the ball well, and space the floor for the teammates. Besides, he has experience of playing in the big stages with the Celtics back during his heydays. Hence, he brings in all that experience of dealing with pressure situations.

The other side of the story takes into consideration his defensive limitations. He is a below-par defender, and this is one of the why the Celtics eventually moved him- as pointed out by Celtics' president Danny Ainge.

Besides Thomas, both Waiters and Smith are not so good on the defensive end. So the Lakers are probably not going to consider these three players just for the sake of adding to the roster.

The final option, which seems to be reasonable for LA, is hoping Moe Harkless agrees to a buyout with the Knicks and joins the Lakers. Harkless, an excellent player on both ends of the court, can be the addition which the Lakers might fancy with the type of requirements they have.