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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWhile a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis are clearly two of the top five players in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers need to upgrade their other three starters to be able to compete for the championship next season.
The harsh reality is Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Andre Drummond would not be guaranteed to start on any of the other top teams with whom the Lakers would be competing for a championship next year. That’s why the Lakers’ top priority this summer should be to upgrade their starting point guard, shooting guard, and center positions with true starter quality players who can complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers need a starting point guard who can run the offense and shoot the three, a starting shooting guard who’s an elite high volume 3-point shooter, and a starting center who can stretch defenses and protect the rim. The problem is the Lakers have no cap space to sign free agents, only two players with tradeable contracts, and just their 2021 and 2027 first round picks to upgrade their starting lineup to championship caliber this summer.
While the Lakers don’t have the trading chips to land a third superstar like Bradley Beal or Zach Lavine, here are three second tier NBA stars who would transform LA’s starting lineup into a championship caliber fivesome.
1. Replace Dennis Schroder with Derrick Rose
While Dennis Schroder has talent, he’s not a good enough playmaker or 3-point shooter to be the starting point guard on a championship team. He’s actually better suited to be a backup point guard coming off the bench.
Unfortunately, Dennis has made it clear at this point in his career that he wants the role and salary of a starting point guard rather than coming off the bench like he did when he was 6MOY runner up for the OKC Thunder. Schroder will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Since the Lakers don’t have the cap space to replace him, they will have to overpay or sign-and-trade him to avoid losing him for nothing in free agency this summer.
The perfect candidate to replace Schroder as the Lakers’ starting point guard would be the Knicks’ Derrick Rose, an unrestricted free agent whom LA should try to sign with their $10 million non-taxpayer Mid Level Exception. The 32-year old Rose is coming off a stellar season with New York where he averaged 14.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists in 26.8 minutes per game shooting 48.7% from the field, 41.1% from three, and 88.3% from the line.
Rose would better complement LeBron and AD and give the Lakers a proven starting quality point guard who was a better 3-point shooter (41.4% vs. 33.5%) and playmaker (3.0 vs. 2.0 assists-to-turnover) than Schroder.
2. Replace Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with Buddy Hield
While he’s a plus defender, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has averaged just 9.3 and 9.7 points per game the last two seasons, which is not what the starting shooting guard on a championship team should average.
The Lakers’ single biggest problem offensively is the lack of high volume, high percentage 3-point shooting. While KCP shot 38.5% and 41.0% from three over the last two seasons, he still only averaged 1.6 threes per game. What the Lakers desperately need is a shooting guard who can not only get open but also won’t hesitate to rain 8 to 10 threes per game. In other words, a top-15 volume 3-point shooter like Steph Curry or Damian Lillard.
The perfect candidate to replace Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is Sacramento shooting guard Buddy Hield, who was the third most prolific 3-point shooter in the league after Curry and Lillard with 10.2 threes per game. Averaging 4.0 made threes per game and shooting 39.1% from deep, Hield would give the Lakers the high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter they need to free up LeBron James and Anthony Davis to attack the paint.
The Kings have been looking to move Buddy Hield, who has three year’s left on his contract at $22.8, $20.8, and $18.9 million per year, for some time now. They need cap space to invest in several promising young players. Offering a package of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Talen Horton-Tucker should be enough for Sacramento. KCP is a proven quality two-way rotation player and THT is a future superstar whom the Kings can build around.
Replacing KCP with Hield would solve many of the Lakers 3-point shooting woes and catapult them from the bottom five in attempted 3-point shots and 3-point percentage to the top-ten in the league in both categories.
3. Replace Andre Drummond with Myles Turner
While the Lakers hoped the Andre Drummond experiment would somehow work out with him re-signing this summer for the NT MLE, it’s obvious the Big Penguin was not a good fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Andre Drummond not only didn’t solve the Lakers’ rim protection problems on defense but also didn’t provide the spacing LA desperately needed to prevent opposing teams from packing the paint against LeBron and AD. While they still contend Drummond did not have enough time to learn how to play with James and Davis, Andre simply does not have the low post offensive game or natural rim protection instincts the Lakers need.
The player the Lakers need to be their starting center is the Pacers’ Myles Turner, who led the entire NBA with 3.4 blocked shots per game. Turner is the perfect front court candidate to play center alongside Anthony Davis. Myles not only solves the Lakers’ rim protection problems but also gives them a stretch five center whose career 35% 3-point shooting can space the floor and open up lanes for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to attack.
The Indiana Pacers are looking to trade Turner because the double bigs, twin towers lineups featuring him and Sabonis have not worked. Turner currently makes $18 million per year and has two years remaining on his contract. Turner will be in high demand and the price high because of his age and skillset but Kyle Kuzma and the Lakers’ 2021 and 2027 first round draft picks for Myles should be enough to tempt Indiana to trade him to LA.
The 25-year old, 6′ 11,” 250 lb Turner would provide the Lakers with the perfect modern center who can protect the rim and stretch the floor and allow the injury prone Anthony Davis to play the four all of the time.
Replacing Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Andre Drummond with Derrick Rose, Buddy Hield, and Myles Turner would dramatically upgrade the Lakers’ starting lineup for next season.
The changes would improve the Lakers at both ends of the court. Davis and Turner would put a lid on the basket defensively and five capable 3-point shooters would open up the floor for the Lakers to get to the rim on offense. The Lakers would lose some depth off the bench but Pelinka should be able to re-sign stalwart reserves like Alex Caruso and Markieff Morris and maybe pick up some other quality veterans for the bench like TJ McConnell.
There are other candidates the Lakers could pursue to upgrade their starting lineup. For example, starting point guard targets could include players like Malcolm Brogdon, Kyle Lowry, or even Russell Westbrook or Chris Paul. Starting shooting guard targets could include CJ McCollum, Terry Rozier, Evan Fournier, Malik Beasley, or Devonte Graham. Starting center targets could include Kristaps Porzingis, Chris Boucher, or Christian Wood.
A starting lineup of Derrick Rose, Buddy Hield, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Myles Turner would give the Los Angeles Lakers the offensive fire power and defensive rim protection to win their 18th championship.
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14 Comments-
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I can’t agree more, Tom. Seems as if you read my mind. I will go with the three players you mentioned( Rose, Hield, Turner ) in a heartbeat. That would totally give the starting five an unmatched balance and power. Not sure how practical it is to get that done, but that would be a hell of a move.
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Thanks, Buba. I think Lakers need to shore up starting lineup. Being able to get all three is going to be tough. What could be a difference maker is the ability to sign-and-trade Schroder and Harrell. There’s also no hard cap if you SEND out a player via sign-and-trade. Only if you receive one.
The bigger issue is whether the Lakers will embrace improving their 3-point shooting. All three of these guys can shoot the three, especially Hield whose top five.
I would say top priority to me is Myles Turner. I would trade whatever the Pacers want of Kuz, KCP, THT, Schroder, and Harrell. I think he’s that important. Will protect and help Davis become the best he can. Next has to be a point guard to replace Dennis.
I would be thrilled with Turner and Rose. Hield would be frosting on the cake. Give me 2 out of 3 please.
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Thanks for the response, Tom. I can’t wait to see what Rob does this offseason. Whatever he does has to include improving our three-point shooting, first and foremost. And that includes our center position as well. You’ve been making good points on this subject for a while. I like mongo’s counter as well though he likes to err on the side of caution.
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What the above three transactions amount to is:
Additions: Derrick Rose, Buddy Hield, and Myles Turner.
Subtractions to trade for Hield and Turner:
KCP, THT (S&T), Kuzma, 2021 and 2027 1st RoundersS&T or lost to free agency candidates:
Schroder, HarrellRe-sign: Caruso, Morris, Matthews
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3-Point shooting dramatically improved:
50.0% more 3P takes, 43.3% more 3P makes
Points from threes increased by 6.6 PPG.Lakers offense was 22nd with 109.5 PPG
Would now be 116.1 PPG, which tied for 5th in league.Players Subtracted:
KCP 9.7/2.7/1.9, made 1.8 of 4.4 3PPG for 41.0%
THT 9.0/2.6/2.8, made 0.6 of 2.0 3PPG for 28.2%
Kuzma 12.9/6.1/1.9, made 2.0 of 5.6 3PPG for 36.1%TOTAL 31.6/11.4/6.6, MADE 4.4 OF 12.0 FOR 36.7%
Players Added:
Rose 14.7/2.6/4.2, made 1.1 of 2.6 3PPG for 41.1%
Hield 16.6/4.7/3.6, made 4.0 of 10.2 3PPG for 39.1%
Turner 12.6/6.5/1.0, made 1.5 of 4.4 3PPG for 35.2%TOTAL 43.9/13.8/8.8, made 6.6 of 17.2 3PPG for 38.3%
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If it was only that simple to just unplug and plug in those numbers…
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The thing about 3-point shooting is you have to have guys who are able and willing to take a lot of shots. You can’t improve your 3-point shooting volume and percentage by just having the same guys take more shots. It’s about the players’ games and you need players who are confident shooters who work to get open threes and then can make them.
Of the three additions, Rose is questionable as this was his best season from deep. Hield and Turner have been consistent throughout their career. The big difference to me is the PPG of the new additions vs. the current players. Lakers need starters who can get the job done. Schroder, KCP, and Drummond are not the answer.
Can the Lakers sign Rose and make the trades for Hield and Turner? That’s really the big question. So far, I haven’t seen any indication that Pelinka believes the current roster can’t get it done, despite the obvious evidence. Like Vogel, he continues to claim the ‘shots will fall.’
Unless Pelinka and Vogel admit the Lakers need a starting center who is a stretch five and a shooting guard who’s a high volume and high percentage 3-point shooter, any hopes of the Lakers coming out of summer as a favorite to win a championship are probably fairy tales.
Lakers not going to win unless they embrace the power of 3-point shooters when you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That is how you win in today’s game. We need the front office to understand that and build a new roster that embraces the modern game.
Do I expect that to happen? Probably not. We’ll probably try to retain Drummond as our starting center and go down hill from there.
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But the stats are just part of the equation. You gotta factor in coaching, system, roster construction, and maybe most importantly…fit. It’s not easy to join a team with LeBron & AD and adjust to the new role you’ll need to play. That’s why Pau, Lamar, Fish, & MWP did well with Kobe..know your role & stay ready. That’s a unique skillet. Also..I’m not sure Buddy & D-Rose help our perimeter defense. Like folks say..it’s all a crapshoot. You can’t predict how guys will respond when put into this situation.
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And speaking of coaching..I’m not sure Frank is the guy to effectively integrate all these new dudes and put them in comfortable positions to succeed. We’ve seen his failure at that this season. And his reluctance to make changes is problematic. I’m watching all the moves Ty Lue has made in these 2 series so far and realizing how stuck in the mud our coach is.
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Good points, Mongo. I suppose part of the blame has to go to Pelinka for promising a starting job to Drummond. Hard for Frank to make the change until too late and too little because of the injuries. The problem is a static starting lineup is great for stability and setting roles but not when the three non-superstar starters are subpar. Frank should have starting whomever matched up best since there wasn’t much impact difference between the #3 and #8 players on this team. Vogel would have been better off rotating starting roles by matchup. Lue has done a good job adjusting but then it’s easier to do when you go down 0-2 in both series.
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Nice article, LT, hope your foray down south was lucrative, as well. I am willing to embrace the idea of upgrading the roster but there are a few things I think we absolutely have to avoid:
I think that, in order to fill it out, we need to make sure we do not bring a player back in a Sign & Trade. Even if it means starting the season with a roster that has some holes it makes it so difficult to both retain our own free agents and make moves at the trade deadline. There is a very short list of players I would amend that stance for: Dame, Steph, & Kawhi. Nobody else I can think of fits the needs of our team, brings either the defense, scoring or the playmaking we need (or both in Curry’s case).
Ignoring that the Lakers actually made moves we advocated for at the start of the season, they just didn’t pan out as expected. When we brought in Matthews, kept KCP, and added McLemore we tried to address the three point shooting issue. Also, Davis was atrocious from behind the arc all season long and LeBron missed the most games ever in his career. No single player can overcome all of that, we’ll see that unfold in Brooklyn with Kyrie and Harden out.
Indy listed Turner as part of it’s future core. I just don’t see us putting together a package that would make them change that notion. Whether he really is or not isn’t the issue, that’s how they’re posturing right now. Kuz, KCP and whatever ain’t going to get it done. Frankly, that’s true for a lot of the league and the kind of players we need. Everyone wants a better point guard, everyone wants stellar three and D guys on the roster, everyone wants a center that can play high level D and shoot the three. We may need to think outside those boxes like we did the Bubble season. I’m not saying “avoid trying to trade for Myles Turner” but rather let’s not focus on one player, under contract, who we don’t really have the assets to pry away, anyhow.
I like Rose, would be fine with him coming over. Like Schroder I don’t want to overpay for what is essentially a backup PG. That’s what was great about Avery Bradley and Rondo at this point in his career. They have a nose for defense, don’t need the ball to be effective and have improved in the analytic areas of the game. Rose also doesn’t really fit into your “volume, volume, volume from three” theory as he only took 2/game last season. He’s also another guy who generally has one major injury/season and misses chunks of time. Since he tore his knee up he’s played in 60+ games twice, only played in 50 last season.
In terms of structuring our cap and setting ourselves up for success next season I look at it this way: Of our free agents who is essential to our identity and needs? One could make the point that none of our free agents are “essential” but that since they are ours, and we can go over the cap to retain them, that therein lies their true value. We can keep everyone currently on the roster, give them raises or whatever. The only one I’m ambivalent about is Schroder. Sign him for too much and he’s an albatross. I’ve said it before, no more than $12-15 mil, if he finds a bigger deal somewhere else cool.
I also think we need to take a long look at why guys didn’t play in the playoffs. Trezz got some “hey thanks for being here” minutes, same for THT. Why? That will be one of the biggest questions I would have for Rob and Frank. If the kid is worth keeping he should be worth playing, if only for the experience since, you know, he’s worth keeping. Might also be worth our time to simply let the market dictate the worth of guys like THT, Caruso, etc. The summer is so dicey, things can start fast and you feel like you’re getting left out.
The thing with the Lakers is we got AD and LBJ, so we need complimentary pieces. I don’t see us currently being in a position to acquire another top tier player (as you noted) so I think we need to nail down who can help them. I’m of the same thinking you are when it comes to Drummond. Unless he’s here on a vet minimum deal he’s not our guy. LeBron needs a more mobile and athletic big like Tristian Thompson, Dwight, that kinda guy. AD wants to play the 4 in the regular season so we need some kind of 5. It’s funny how much hinges on what Gasol and Trezz do this summer.
All in all, be interesting to see whom we draft. It’s all happening!
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Thanks for reading and commenting, Jamie.
I’m completely in agreement with you that we should avoid being hard capped, which primarily means not ‘receiving’ a player via S&T. I would also make exceptions to get a third star but in general, the hard cap makes it impossible to overpay your own players to keep them and limits actions on trades. It’s why I focused on adding players like Turner and Hield who are under contract.
Yeah, I was pretty supportive of the moves we made last offseason but in retrospect I think we were all in a euphoric state after winning the championship. When you look back, it’s hard to deny that a big factor was LeBron and AD getting four and half months off to get 100% healthy and rested. AND both of them having the best postseason shooting the three they ever had as a result. Obviously, we saw a completely different challenge this season with the injuries. Bottom line, lots to disagree in retrospect with the moves Rob made but that’s life in the NBA.
I think Indiana will trade Turner regardless of their listing him as core. The simple truth is a twin towers starting lineup with Myles and Sabonis just doesn’t work and Turner is too expensive to come off the bench and Sabonis is their future. I also agree there are likely to be teams who can offer more. I do think we could win the Turner deal if we went all in and included Kuzma and THT and the 2021 pick and I would do it if necessary as I think solidifying the center position is our top priority. Not only to solve the stretch five and rim protection issues but also to protect Davis’ health going forward. I do think we have pieces to get one great player and Turner would be my choice, even over a volume shooter like Hield. Bottom line, I’d be thrilled with Rose for NT MLE and Turner for Kuz, THT, and the 2021 first.Rose is a short-term fill and would hopefully come for the NT MLE. There are other options like Lonzo, Lowry, Westbrook, CP3, etc. but would require taking a S&T guy which would hard cap us, which we both agree would not be good.
We may have to approach our rebuild as a two-step process, where we re-sign our own free agents in summer so we can trade them at the deadline. Or we can try to trade Schroder and Harrell via S&T deals for players under contract. I love the idea of maybe getting a shooter from Charlotte for a Harrell S&T or maybe a deal with the Raptors in a Schroder S&T. There aren’t as many teams with cap space as originally anticipated so there’s a good chance there will be teams who would like to add Schroder or Harrell but with S&T rather than cap space.
Drummond is the time bomb waiting to go off and screw the Lakers offseason. It still boggles me why the front office ever thought he could be the long term center for the Lakers. He can’t protect the rim or stretch the floor. And the only way we can sign a free agent is with the NT MLE. Wasting it on him rather than on a player like Rose would be a travesty. My biggest worry is Pelinka doubling down on Andre Drummond. When you look at the available centers who can stretch the floor and protect the rim, it’s hard not to see what a great fit Myles Turner would be on the Lakers. Again, I’d give Indiana whatever they want. A starting lineup with a Turner, Davis, James front court would be championship caliber and Davis is the perfect power forward to play with Turner. They would put a lid on the basket and Davis could go small when needed.
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Yup, lots could have broken differently but between the moves made not panning out as hoped, the team’s overall shooting/scoring taking a dip and the massive amount of games lost due to injury/H&SP the hill was too high to conquer.
I’ll be surprised if Indy moves Turner before the trade deadline, likely not in the summer when they would hope that a new coach/system and another year together improves the on-court product. If having Turner at the 5 can work with AD they’ll see what Sabonis and Turner can do as that is, essentially, the same situation we are talking about creating here. Indy has Myles on a reasonable deal, he’s an elite defender signed until the season after next. Small market teams generally don’t trade impact for spare parts. They can (and should) get more than we can offer until well into the season if they move him this summer.
I think Rose will command a salary equivalent to Schroder. I would be surprised if he took such a small amount to come to a team where his role and influence are reduced. Frankly, he’s earned it and I’ll be surprised if New York (with ample cap space) doesn’t go a little over the line to keep him. He became the starting point guard, was in control of the offense and playing like D-Rose of old. If Julius had played anything like he did during the regular season they would be the darling dark horse show of the NBA playoffs and not Atlanta. That’s a lot to come here and hope LeBron and AD stay healthy and have enough in the tank come playoff time.
Thtat’s my big worry, in all honesty, these guys all know what LeBron has been able to accomplish and, like the rest of us, are wondering “is this the season he declines in a noticeable way?” That may hinder second tier stars looking to rebuild or up their rep. While nothing can compare to winning it all as a Laker, as we saw last season, the knives come out reeeeeeeal quick when we struggle or fail to meet expectations. Not saying it wouldn’t happen, just that I hope LeBron has his parabolic chamber sched in order, get that body reset.
I know one thing, the playoffs have been (for the most part) fun but the summer is where it’s going to get wild. With not as much cap space as expected the fish will feast early and it’ll come down to who can swing a major summer deal. The Lakers are also behind the 8 ball there as league rules won’t allow them to trade guys with newly minted deals until 3 months after the ink dries or 12/15. So it really just becomes a game of “What can we realistically expect to get for Kuz, KCP and…Alonzo McKinnie? Trezz if he opts in? Gasol if he doesn’t retire/go to Spain?” THT, Caruso, Matthews, McLemore, Schroder are all either going to sign a new deal with us or book it on out of town. When they do we won’t be able to move them for several months unless we S&T one. Same goes for this summer’s draft pick. Can’t be traded until 30 days after the draft and it’s going to be near the bottom of the 1st round. Not exactly a spot known to bew coveted because, as a first rounder, they’ll have a specific range of money coming their way.
Rob has his work cut out for him, that much is true. Going to be wacky and wild.
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Lakers Fast Break wrote a new post
Read MoreGreat post, Sean.
I haven’t been a big follower of international basketball competition so I don’t remember Oscar Schmidt scoring 55 points except as a reference for Luka’ great game.
I do remember Len Bias, however, and his death after using cocaine and how the Celtics karma seemed to be permanently damaged after that. Great player.
T-Mac got lost in Orlando. Put him in LA or NY and he would be in many of those conversations about great point guards. The size of the market can impact a player’s legacy.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreAnthony Davis’ injury killed the dream but five major mistakes revamping the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be real reasons the Los Angeles Lakers’ quest to repeat as NBA champions will ultimately fail.
It’s easy to look in the rear view mirror and see what went wrong but in retrospect the Lakers not only ignored flashing red warning signs all season long but also doubled down on two late season major personnel mistakes. They traded for the wrong point guard, signed centers who were poor fits, failed to draft or trade for a volume 3-point shooter, declined to trade for All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, and signed center Andre Drummond.
Besides dooming their chances of repeating as champs, these five major mistakes may also have derailed the Lakers’ opportunity to fix the problems this summer as the threat of free agency losses and luxury taxes loom.
1. Trading for point guard Dennis Schroder.
The Lakers first mistake was trading Danny Green and their first round pick for point guard Dennis Schroder. The Lakers hoped Schroder could be their point guard of the future and help LeBron James with playmaking duties.
Aside from the fact that Schroder turns the ball over too much, only shoots 33.3% from three, and has a barely acceptable 2.1 assists-to-turnovers ratio, Dennis wants more money and a bigger role than the Lakers have to offer. Since Schroder’s an unrestricted free agent, the Lakers will have to either dramatically overpay him to convince him to stay or pull off some form of a miracle sign-and-trade to prevent losing him for nothing to another team.
The ultimate irony of the trade is Danny Green had a great season with the Sixers and shot over 40% on 6.3 threes per game while Schroder reverted to being a below average 3-point shooter and inefficient starting point guard.
2. Signing centers Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell.
The second big mistake the Lakers made was not trading for a modern center like Myles Turner who could protect the rim on defense and stretch defenses on offense rather than signing rent-a-centers Harrell and Gasol.
Trading defense for offense is essentially what the Lakers did when replacing McGee and Howard with Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell, but the moves left the team defensively challenged without rim protection. The result was a poor fitting Lakers center tandem that featured an over-the-hill stretch five in Gasol who could no longer jump or dunk and an undersized small ball, low post center in Harrell who could not defend.
With Davis relegated to playing the five less than 10% of the time compared to over 25% of the time last season, the Lakers production from the center position, especially when it came to rim protection, took a big step back.
3. Failing to draft, sign, or trade for 3-point shooters.
For whatever reason, the Los Angeles Lakers continue to ignore the longtime acknowledged formula for winning with LeBron James, which is to surround him with elite high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters.
Last year, the Lakers ranked 23rd with 11.0 made threes on 30.6 shots per game for 34.9% vs. league average of 34.1%. This year they ranked 25th with 11.1 made threes on 31.2 shots for 35.4% vs. league average of 34.6%. The Lakers’ 3-point shooting has taken a major step backward in the playoffs as they rank second worst in the league with just 9.3 made threes on 31.8 shots per game for 29.1%, a fatal drop from last year’s 35.4% in the playoffs.
The Lakers continued rejection of the importance of high volume, high percentage 3-point shooting and abject failure to fix the problem when building this year’s rosters is one of the team’s biggest mistakes.
4. Declining to trade for point guard Kyle Lowry
The biggest major mistake was failing to add a third superstar so they could not only weather the injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis but also have enough firepower to match the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Finals.
That’s the decision that left the Lakers without the star depth to survive the injuries to LeBron and AD and left them vulnerable to what’s looking more and more like a possible first round flame out to the upstart Phoenix Suns. We saw how important a third superstar was for the Brooklyn Nets whose superstar Big Three with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving allowed them to overcome significant injuries to all three superstars.
The Lakers blew an opportunity at the trade deadline to land veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, who would have given the Lakers a third superstar and allowed the team to weather the current injuries to LeBron and AD.
5. Signing free agent center Andre Drummond
After declining to trade for Kyle Lowry and failing to make any moves at the trade deadline, the Lakers made their fifth and final fatal mistake by signing the enigma center Andre Drummond from the buyout market.
A seriously talented but flawed 27-year old center who had never played for a winning team, Drummond proved to be the Laker final fatal roster mistake, throwing the team’s center rotation and team chemistry into total turmoil. Worse, the addition of a third center left Frank Vogel without enough time to integrate Drummond into the Lakers style of play, especially defensively, with the result that signing Andre was subtraction by addition.
The result was lineup and rotation chaos as the Lakers tried to integrate Drummond while re-integrating James and Davis returning from injury as the team prepared to defend their championship in the playoffs.
While these roster mistakes will likely cost the Lakers the chance to repeat as NBA champions, the bigger issue is how the mistakes have acerbated the challenge the Lakers will face this summer to repair the damage.
The Lakers have a serious cap space issues next season. They are likely to lose Andre Drummond, Montrezl Harrell, and Dennis Schroder to free agency and could even lose fan faves Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker. They will also only have the $5 million taxpayer MLE to use to pursue free agents and, should they lose to the Suns in the first round, could turnover the entire roster except for superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers are just one game away from facing their first elimination playoff game in the last two years. Suddenly, they’re facing a first round flame out that will be more embarrassing than the Clippers departure last year.
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12 Comments-
I must admit I don’t believe the Lakers can beat the Suns playing the way they have been with or without Anthony Davis. Worse, I think the mistakes made by Pelinka and the front office by declining to trade THT for Kyle Lowry may cost them any opportunity to rebuild a championship roster this summer. We may have seen the last NBA championship by LeBron James. The injuries and the front office’s failure to upgrade the roster from last year is likely to prove fatal. Frank Vogel may become just another single ring coach. Hope I’m wrong but I’m expecting AD not to play, the Lakers to lose big tomorrow night, and then be sent fishing in front of their own fans on Thursday. Lakers right now are toast and they know it.
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I just feel it in my bones 🦴 Tom, LeBron will go apeshit/cray cray all over them tonight
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You simply can’t have LeBron and AD miss that much time in a condensed season and expect to see favorable results. The roster wasn’t much better last year but we were able go into the bubble with the 2 superstars 100% healthy and rested. Probably why folks wanna put an asterisk on that title. On a side note..it’s kind of amazing to see Donovan Mitchell bounce back to nearly 100% after all that time lost to injury.
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Yeah, there’s no question it would take a perfect storm like last year for LeBron and AD to recover and remain healthy enough to repeat as champions. Right now, it’s at least a 20 to1 shot at best.
To try and bring in a project like Drummond at the same time as they’re trying to reintegrate LeBron and AD into the lineup only makes the challenge even more difficult to accomplish. Bottom line, the Lakers are likely toast unless we have a few miracles.
Should have pulled the trigger on the Kyle Lowry trade. That would have given the Lakers a third star to weather the storm. Losing one star is not a killer if you still have two. Losing one and being left with just one is not enough in today’s NBA.
While injuries obviously get the top blame, the Lakers front office made too many mistakes and we will pay the price in flaming out in the first round and find an impossible challenge to fix things this summer.
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Thing is..Kyle Lowry also missed a buncha games down the stretch with injury iirc.. I also think the FO didn’t anticipate LBJ & AD being out so long and probably thought they’d have more games to integrate Drummond with them. Sometimes shit just don’t work out the way you hope..lol
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They’re still acting like a groin pull is as simple as a sprained ankle, which it’s not. All of our injuries are of the type for which recovery is hard to estimate or even know until they’re ready to go. High ankle sprains, groin pulls, hamstrings. Man, give me a simple sprain or contusion. The short offseason and compressed schedule have been hell on us.
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I can’t just gloss over the injuries and say they had zero role in where we are now. I also think it funny that almost all of us looked at this roster at the start and saw an offensive juggernaut. Just as easy to critique the Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope extensions as bad moves in hindsight. This roster always had a one-dimensional aspect to it, Drummond didn’t help that but it shouldn’t be laid at his feet. He didn’t build the team, after all.
I will echo what magicman has been vibing on: why not include THT in the Lowry trade if all of a sudden he’s unplayable? What’s up with that? In a series where we so desperately need scoring from anyone at all one of our best interior scorers sits for games at a time? Same goes for Trezz. If we’re not going to out-defend the Suns than we need to keep pace better and you’re leaving you two best paint scorers not named LeBron on the pine for entire games. Mystifying coaching…
I do agree we will likely overhaul the roster to the point we are capable of doing. That a groin strain is waaaaay more serious than we seem to be treating it as (like…why was AD warming up last night? get some ice on those gonads son!). Still got a game to right the ship and convincingly send this back to Phoenix. Anything can happen in game 7.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWhat’s the story behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ fascination with Andre Drummond ? Do Pelinka and Vogel really believe Drummond at center is the best strategy to take advantage of LeBron James and Anthony Davis?
The Andre Drummond experiment up to this point has been a bust as every key stat clearly demonstrate the Lakers are a better team on offense and defense with Marc Gasol or Anthony Davis at center than the Big Penguin. Frank Vogel continues to ignore the stats that say Davis and James play, shoot, and defend better without Drummond and claims Andre just needs more minutes to learn how to play alongside the Lakers’ superstars.
You can almost see the wheels working in the background as Pelinka and Vogel continue to believe Drummond not only could help the Lakers win the championship this year but might also re-sign with the team long term. Their obsession with a possible James, Davis, and Drummond Big Three has apparently blinded them to Andre’s poor footwork, subpar court presence, low post inefficiency, and inescapable poor fit next to LeBron and AD.
Meanwhile, Frank Vogel has become increasingly defensive about Andre Drummond’s performance, pointing out Andre has not had the benefit of camp and the regular season to develop chemistry for the scheme to work. That’s an argument better made during the regular season than the start of the first round of the playoffs while the Lakers try to re-integrate superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis back from long injuries into the rotation.
What drives me crazy is Vogel not realizing traditional centers change how the Lakers play offense and defense. Andre’s lack of offensive spacing and lack of defensive mobility limits the team’s play at both ends of the court. The Lakers established a gold standard of what to expect during last year’s successful championship run with Anthony Davis playing more than 50% of his time at the five. That’s a proven winning formula you can’t discard.
So what’s really going on here? Do the Lakers really believe Drummond at the five is a championship scheme? Did Andre receive a promise he would be the starter in the playoffs when he signed his free agent contract? Alternatively, have the Lakers decided to dramatically reduce Anthony’s minutes at the five to accommodate his preference for playing power forward? That’s a move they clearly made during the regular season.
Or is the obsession with Drummond just an example of an old school coach like Frank Vogel stubbornly refusing to give up the idea of traditional low post center being the best scheme to anchor the team’s offense and defense. It’s hard to fathom what’s going through Frank Vogel’s mind right now as the Lakers trail the Phoenix Suns 0–1 and could be in danger of suffering a devastating first round loss rather then repeating as champions.
Unfortunately, the time has run out and Frank Vogel needs to abandon his obsession with Andre Drummond and either start Anthony Davis or Marc Gasol at center immediately or risk losing the opportunity to win #18.
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So will Frank Vogel make any changes to the Lakers starting lineup and rotations this game? I’m not expecting anything but the same starting lineup as Frank gives Drummond one more chance to show he can be the third wheel with LeBron and AD.
Reading all the comments, Vogel was even willing to criticize how Anthony Davis played when he was at the five against the Suns as part of his campaign to support Andre Drummond’s play. There’s something else going on here that has to do with promised made to Drummond when he signed as a free agent. He was obviously promised he would start and the Lakers are fearful that benching him will upset team chemistry and guarantee Drummond would not re-sign with the Lakers at a discounted price this summer.
If AD and LeBron show up, we will win regardless of what Frank does about Drummond. How long Frank can continue to delude himself about Andre’s fit will undoubtedly determine whether the Lakers repeat as champs or crash and burn with a disgraceful and embarrassing first round exit. Vogel betting and risking the NBA championship, LeBron’s Laker Legacy, and his own coaching future for a deluded pipe dream that Andre Drummond is the answer. Everybody already knows Dre is not the answer.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreFrank Vogel and the Lakers dodged a bullet against the Warriors and hopefully learned a key lesson when it comes to repeating as champions: Two’s company and three’s a crowd when it comes to Andre Drummond.
The Lakers’ best 5-man lineups offensively and defensively the past two years have always featured Anthony Davis at the five, LeBron James at the four, and three players capable of shooting the three and playing defense. The problem with playing a traditional low post center like Drummond alongside James and Davis is his presence in the paint creates crowds that make it easy for teams to prevent LeBron and AD from getting to the rim.
That’s what happened in the first half of the Play-In Game vs. the Warriors when Davis only played 4 minutes at center and the Warriors were able to sag off Drummond or Harrell to prevent the Lakers from attacking the rim. James, Davis, and Schroder as a result shot a combined 4 for 28 from the field as every shot at the rim was contested and 5 blocked and the Warriors forced the Lakers to shoot from outside and took a 13 point half time lead.
Contrast that with the second half when Davis played center for 18 of the 24 minutes and the Lakers, without a low post center clogging the paint, had wide open lanes to drive into the paint and attack the rim for buckets. Without Drummond or Harrell crowding the paint, James, Davis, and Schroder shot a combined 16 for 27 from the field and the Lakers rallied from down 13 to won the game with a 34-foot three from LeBron James.
Heading into their first round playoff series against the #2 seed Phoenix Suns, Frank Vogel needs to understand the Lakers cannot afford to lose first games by continuing to start traditional low post center Andre Drummond. The Lakers need to go all in and start Anthony Davis at the five or replace Andre Drummond with stretch five center Marc Gasol with the 3-point gravity to create space for James, Davis, and Schroder to attack the paint.
The Lakers face a tougher gauntlet to repeat as champions and need to understand that two’s company and three’s a crowd when it comes to Andre Drummond and commit to starting Anthony Davis or Marc Gasol at center.
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Pressure’s on Frank Vogel to either start AD at the five for this series or at least start stretch five Marc Gasol rather than playing traditional low post centers Andre Drummond or Montrezl Harrell. Vogel almost cost the Lakers the play-in game against the Warriors by waiting until the middle of the third quarter to bench Drummond and move Davis to the five.
I’m not a fan of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson but agree with them 100% that the Lakers would not have won the play-in game had Frank Vogel not changed his strategy for the second half to bench Drummond and Harrell and play Davis at the five. Vogel can’t make that same mistake against the Suns.
Word from the Suns camp is they’re already looking to pack the paint against LeBron, AD, and Schroder and hunt pick-and-rolls with Drummond because of his inability to correctly rotate and be in the right position to protect the rim or contest jump shots. Time to end the Andre Drummond as the starter experiment and turn to the two lineups that have worked all season for the Lakers: AD or Marc Gasol at the five to spread defenses.
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He’s not going to come off the bench in any game 1 in any series. Losses and the style in which they come will determine everything else.
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Rob Pelinka faces his biggest challenge yet as head of basketball operations for Lakers rebuilding this roster. Saying he wants to run it back (whatever that means) is not a promising first comment, especially if it includes using the NT MLE to re-sign Andre Drummond to be the Lakers center. Andre is not a stretch center or rim protector or low post scorer and it puzzles me why the Lakers continue to think he is the future at center.
Replacing Schroder, KCP, and Drummond with Rose, Hield, and Turner would be a perfect summer for the Lakers. Signing Derrick Rose with the NT MLE, trading KCP and THT for Buddy Hield, and trading Kuzma and our 2021 and 2027 first round picks for Myles Turner would transform the Lakers starting lineup into a true championship starting lineup.
There are, of course, other viable candidates to replace Schroder, KCP, and Drummond but Rose, Hield, and Turner are the three new starters I think make the most sense to modernize the Lakers on offense and make them dominant on defense. This summer is one of those momentous offseasons that will determine what kind of future the LeBron James led Lakers will have. Making the right moves would be a godsent. Making the wrong moves, like keeping Drummond, would portend a disaster.