Lakers Consider Spencer Dinwiddie, Gary Trent Jr. After LeBron James' Team-Friendly Deal

Thanks to LeBron James signing below the max for his newest contract, the Los Angeles Lakers have turned their attention to strengthening the overall depth of their backcourt. And they have two players in mind.

According to a recent report from The Athletic's Jovan Buha and Shams Charania, the Lakers are interested in the services of Spencer Dinwiddie and Gary Trent Jr.

Dinwiddie is coming off an up-and-down performance throughout the 2023-24 season, where he played for the Lakers after getting traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Toronto Raptors as he eventually got waived.

In 28 regular-season appearances with the Lakers, Dinwiddie averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game. He struggled to make an impact against Denver in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, only scoring three points per game in the team's five contests against the then-reigning champs.

This is where Trent Jr. introduces himself as a plausible alternative over Dinwiddie. Trent Jr. has showcased excellent shooting from beyond the arc throughout his career, making 38.6% of his shots from downtown.

Even though he went from averaging 17.4 points in the 2022-23 season to 13.7 points the following year, he maintained his remarkable accuracy from deep with a success rate of 39.3% on 6.4 attempts per game. Putting up 16.4 points per game throughout his four seasons with the Raptors presents him as a capable shooter the Lakers should fully pursue to elevate their three-point shooting.

LeBron James took a $3 million pay cut to give the Lakers an opportunity to improve the roster in any way they can despite being unsuccessful in their attempts to recruit Klay Thompson, who's heading to Dallas. Instead of signing for the max of $104 million, James instead accepted a $101.355 million deal to assist the team financially.

This situation shows how cautious the Lakers are of the $188.9 million second apron, knowing the massive restrictions that would've been placed on them if they gave the max to James.

With their roster currently at 15 players, they will have to make some trades to create space and give them an opening to make the destination appealing for either Dinwiddie or Trent Jr.

Related: Social Media Reacts to Historic Six-Team Trade Involving Klay Thompson