Aloha, Michael. LOL.
Best way never to miss is never to shoot.
Of course, we kall now there was never a shot I didn’t like as a player and never a trade opportunityi I wouldn’t explore as a blogger.
Los Angeles Lakers
Could Lakers Trade for Ben Simmons and Turn Him Into Small Ball Center?
The Philadelphia 76ers’ playoff loss and Ben Simmons’ shooting woes may have given the Los Angeles Lakers an out-of-the-box opportunity to trade for the 24-year old point guard and turn him into a small ball point center.
While it might be a long shot considering the competition and the Lakers’ need for shooting, the idea of Superstar Big Three front court of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Ben Simmons could transform the Lakers. Imagine the Lakers next season with a modern defense anchored by 6′ 9,” 250 lbs LeBron James at small forward, 6′ 10,” 253 Anthony Davis at power forward, and the 6′ 11,” 250 lbs Ben Simmons playing small ball center.
Unlike other former Lakers traditional low post centers like JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, or Andre Drummond, opposing teams would not be able to play Ben Simmons off the floor due to his inability to defend the perimeter. Simmons has the potential to be the perfect prototye of a modern defensive small ball center, a player who can block shots and protect the rim and still switch, rotate, and guard smaller guards and wings outside the paint,
We’re seeing traditional, low post centers consistently getting played off the court when opposing teams go small because they lack the quickness and mobility to defend on the perimeter. It even just happened to Rudy Gobert. With three big, athletic, mobile, and versatile front court defenders capable of guarding all five positions on the court in James, Davis, and Simmons, the Lakers could redefine what defense will look like in tomorrow’s NBA.
The idea of converting Simmons from a point guard to a point center is not new but something the Sixers have considered in the past because his size and skillset are better suited for playing point center than point guard. Simmons’ 6′ 11,” 250 lbs body and 7′ 0″ wingspan combined with his speed, quickness, athleticism, mobility, and defensive instincts make him the ideal candidate to be a modern small ball center in the mold of Draymond Green.
More importantly, trading for Ben Simmons would give the Lakers the third superstar they desperately need to keep pace with the Brooklyn Nets’ Superstar Big Three of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. That’s something the Lakers’ Rob Pelinka and Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul have probably already discussed in the aftermath of the Lakers’ disappointing first round exit. Three superstars is great insurance against injuries.
Don’t underestimate the influence Rich Paul could have on what happens to Ben Simmons. It’s no secret that Paul and Klutch Sports have worked closely with Rob Pelinka and the LA Lakers to build a championship caliber squad. Rich and Rob worked closely together to orchestrate Anthony Davis’ trade to the Lakers and you can expect them to be looking for a solution that would add another Klutch Sports client to the eight already on the Lakers’ roster.
The big question is whether the Lakers have enough trading chips to make an offer to compete against offers from other teams that could include star players like Gordon Hayward, Kyle Lowry, CJ McCollum, or Zach LaVine? The best offer the Lakers could make could be a package including small forward Kyle Kuzma, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and either point guard Dennnis Schroder or shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker.
Needless to say, trading for Simmons would cost the Lakers bench depth and diversity and leave them with few trading chips left to upgrade their 3-point shooting but it would dramatically upgrade their top ranked defense. Doubling down on defense by going all-in on a small ball center would be the Lakers zigging when every other NBA team is zagging but it would also give LeBron James and Anthony Davis the third superstar to be their best.
The Lakers would still have to scramble to find more accurate and prolific 3-point shooters at both guard positions but trading for Simmons would give them the foundation to become the NBA’s dominant defensive juggernaut.
Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Center! Which Should Be Lakers Top Priority?
The Lakers need a new starting point guard, shooting guard, and center if they want to rebound and win their 18th championship next season. Which position or positions will they prioritize and which stars will they pursue?
With no cap space for free agents and limited trading chips in the form of valued players under contract and tradeable draft picks, the Lakers face a daunting challenge upgrading the team’s starting lineup this offseason. Unless they’re willing to trade valuable young role players like Caruso and Horton-Tucker or accept being hard capped as the result of bringing in a player via a sign-and-trade, the Lakers options are severely handicapped.
So let’s look at the players the Lakers might target as new starting point guard, shooting guard, and center to get an idea of what kind of starting lineup the front office might be able to put together for next season:
FINDING A STARTING POINT GUARD
The Lakers need a starting point guard who takes and makes more threes, does a better job running the offense, and has a proven record of creating more and better assists with fewer turnovers than Dennis Schroder.
Upgrading the point guard position will be difficult since Schroder is an unrestricted free agent and the Lakers don’t have cap space to replace him if he leaves as a free agent this summer unless he agrees to a sign-and-trade. Ideally, trading him to a team that needs a point guard like the Knicks with cap space to create a trade exception or sign-and-trading him to a team like the Raptors without cap space might be the Lakers’ best two options.
Point guard is one position where there may be legitimate star players who might be attainable if the Lakers decided to go all-in to get a star point guard. In order of priority of fit, here are the Lakers point guard candidates:
- Kyle Lowry. The Lakers best option might be to revisit a possible double sign-and-trade deal with the Raptors for Schroder for Lowry. The Lakers would have to include a sweetener but Lowry would be their third star.
- Chris Paul. A double sign-and-trade of Schroder for CP3 is another option should Paul opt out of his contract with the Suns as expected and decides to join up his friend LeBron James to create a Lakers Big Three.
- Lonzo Ball. Like with Lowry and CP3, reuniting with Lonzo would require the Lakers to accept a hard cap for adding a player via a sign-and-trade but in compensation would not cost as much to pull off.
- Derrick Rose. Using the Taxpayer $6 million MLE or Non-Taxpayer $9 million MLE to sign Rose would enable the Lakers to save their trading chips to upgrade their starting shooting guard and center positions.
FINDING A STARTING SHOOTING GUARD
The Lakers need a starting shooting guard who is a proven high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter who can play defense and has the gravity to open up the floor for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to attack the rim.
Upgrading starting shooting guard should be the Lakers’ top priority as it’s the position with the most available high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters, including several players who would be legitimate third stars. Landing one of these elite 3-point shooters will likely require the Lakers to go all-in with package that could include quality role players like Kyle Caruso, Alex Caruso, Talen-Horton Tucker, and their first round pick.
The Lakers need to an elite high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter who can play creditable defense to replace low volume 3-point shooter KCP. In order of priority of fit, here are the Lakers shooting guard candidates:
- CJ McCollum. Landing a star shooting guard like CJ would require the Lakers to go all-in with a package of Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Talen Horton-Tucker, and their 2021 first round draft pick.
- Buddy Hield. Trading for Hield might be the Lakers best option as they already have had talks with the Kings about Hield and Sacramento has always coveted Kyle Kuzma. Hield would be a great fit on Lakers.
- Terry Rozier. The Hornets are deep at guard and short in the front court so might be interested in trading Rozier for a sign-and-trade for Harrell. Rozier is an elite volume 3-point shooter and quality playmaker.
- Malik Beasley. Since Beasley makes considerably less than any of the other high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters, the Lakers might be able to acquire him in return for Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso.
FINDING A STARTING CENTER
While the center position has become undervalued in today’s NBA, the Lakers desperately need to stop settling for temporary rent-a-center solutions and solidy the center position with a modern stretch center.
Over the last two seasons, the Lakers have failed to find a modern center who can shoot the three and finish lobs at the rim on offense and protect the rim and switch and rotate and defend on the perimeter on defense. McGee, Howard, Harrell, Gasol, and Drummond all had flaws that led to them being unplayable in the playoffs. Fortunately, the Lakers have the perfect prototype modern offensive and defensive center in Anthony Davis.
Wirh Anthony Davis fagility and desire not to play the five, the Lakers need a dependable starting center who can fill the team’s greatest two needs at the five: stretching the floor o offense and protecting the rim on defense.
- Myles Turner. The NBA’s leading shot blocker the past two seasons, Turner would be the perfect front court mate to pair with Anthony Davis in a Twin Towers lineup that would anchor a championship defense.
- Chris Boucher. The 6′ 9″ Boucher is another player who could be a great small ball center for the Lakers. His unique combination of length and athletic hops would be a great complement to Anthony Davis.
- Kristaps Porzingis. Word is the Mavs will be looking to move Porzingis as part of their franchise makeover since he and Doncic do not like each other. Playing next to Davis, Porzingis could be perfect for the Lakers.
- Nerlens Noel. While he can’t stretch the floor, Noel has speed, quickness, and mobility to be the perfect modern defensive center. Unlike Rudy Gobert, Nerlens cannot be playoff the floor defensively.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Since they don’t have enough resources to land each of their top choices for starting point guard, shooting guard, and center, the Lakers will have to figure out what they need and how much to budget for each position.
If they use all their trading chips to land Lowry at point guard or McCollum at shooting guard, the Lakers may have to settle for signing a less expensive free agent with their MLE like Noel at center or like Rose at point guard. There are unlimited combinations of three new starters at point guard, shooting guard, and center that would be major upgrades for the Lakers and would unleash LeBron James and Anthony Davis to be even better.
For example, one combination that would be lethal for the Lakers would be Derrick Rose starting at point guard, Buddy Hield at shooting guard, and Myles Turner at center to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Another great combination that could give the Lakers a third superstar to go with LeBron James and Anthony Davis would be Kyle Lowry starting at point guard, Buddy Hield at shooting guard, and Nerlens Noel at center.
In the end, this summer may be the most important offseason in LeBron James tenure with the Lakers. What Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office do to upgrade the starting lineup will determine the future of the franchise.
Why Lakers Need to Upgrade Starting Lineup to Compete for Championship!
While 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.
Five Major Mistakes That Doomed the Lakers’ Hopes to Repeat as Champions
Anthony 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.