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Summary

Dudley has entered the stage of his career where he is playing on one-year minimum deals for title contenders, which I expect him to do again as a free agent this summer. The former wing is now a small-ball four or even a small-ball five in certain situations. He can stretch the floor with his shooting, and rarely makes mistakes on offense. On defense, he can use his intelligence to make up for his lack of athleticism.

 

There will be certain lineups that Dudley will struggle against, but having additional shooting at the big position can't hurt. In addition, Dudley is a thoughtful player that seems to be well-liked by his teammates. While that seems like a marginal attribute, some guys have turned that skill into a couple extra years of career earnings.

Cap Considerations

Dudley will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.6 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. This means that the highest starting salary the Lakers could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is $3.1 million. This would likely be enough to retain Dudley, since he settled for the minimum of $2.6 million to come to Los Angeles. Alternatively, the Lakers could use their Mid-Level Exception or Bi-Annual Exception to re-sign Dudley if he demands more than $3.1 million.

 

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Dudley as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him. Since he signed a minimum contract last summer, teams will hope to get him at the minimum this summer too.

Potential Teams: Lakers, Warriors, Bucks, Clippers, Trailblazers

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.6 million ($1.6 million cap hit) with the Lakers

Actual Contract: 1-year, $2.6 million ($1.6 million cap hit) with the Lakers.

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As expected, Dudley returned to the Lakers on a one-year minimum deal.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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