Lakers miss out on Gary Trent Jr. as he joins the Bucks

Other than the additions of 2024 draft picks Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster right now looks almost identical to the one they finished this past season with. They had been interested in a few prominent free agents, particularly Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan, but they decided to join different teams.

The Lakers then reportedly targeted Gary Trent Jr., a 3-and-D guard who had spent the last three and a half seasons with the Toronto Raptors. They had limited financial resources to work with within the NBA’s new ultra-restrictive salary cap, which made plenty of people skeptical they could land Trent.

On Tuesday, Trent became the latest free agent to reject the Lakers, as he decided to accept a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks instead.

In the Bucks, he is joining a team that was a disappointment this past season but feels it has the players to go after an NBA championship next spring and summer.

Meanwhile, the Lakers, a franchise that has won 17 world titles and most recently claimed one in 2020, are increasingly taking on the look of a bridesmaid organization that simply cannot figure out how to properly execute a roster improvement plan.