Shake Milton’s non-guaranteed salary for 2025-26 is quickly approaching its decision date on July 20. The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly already made their choice in what to do with that roster spot after potentially cutting ties with the veteran guard.
The Athletic wrote, “The Lakers have additional roster work to do. The team can create a roster spot by waiving guard Shake Milton, and team sources have said that improving the team’s point of attack defense is a priority.”
The decision to part ways with Milton would be unsurprising. As soon as the Lakers brought back Jaxson Hayes, rosters spots for 2025-26 were filling up quickly. The Lakers guard stood out like a natural candidate to get outright waived.
Lacking a true point of attack defender also showed itself as a natural area for improvement with this roster. If things are quiet on the trade front for the Lakers, moving away from Milton and grabbing one of the free agents still available should be an easy, and necessary, decision for Rob Pelinka.
Lakers’ perimeter defense remains a point of concern
Looking at the projected starting lineup of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and DeAndre Ayton will quickly highlight the need for a player who can come in and have a defensive game plan centered around them matching up with the prominent one through three on an opposing team. The Lakers lack that currently.
Many fans hoped the answer to that problem could be Andrew Wiggins. However, the rumored asking price set by the Miami Heat was way too large of a demand for the Lakers to meet.
If the Lakers plan on heading into 2025-26 with the starting lineup listed above, they need a player who can immediately come off their bench, and have defense as their primary focus. Those specialists do not grow on trees. However, there are some still available who can address that need.
De’Anthony Melton sticks out as the most obvious candidate to come in and take the open roster spot that the Lakers are trying to create. However, the concern would be whether the free agent has made plans to sign elsewhere at this point.
If not Melton, Josh Okogie might be of interest after being waived by the Charlotte Hornets the other day. Okogie does not bring the same kind of offensive upside to go with his defense, but playing beside Doncic would hopefully make life a lot easier for him on that end.
Holding out for a buyout of Marcus Smart from the Washington Wizards could prove worth the gamble. Smart is not at the caliber of Defensive Player of the Year levels anymore. However, the two-way guard remains effective enough to take a shot on.
The choice to move on from Milton should be a formality for a Lakers team trying to piece together the last key few moves to contending in the Western Conference. Making the most of the flexibility that will come to them is pivotal.