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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreThe Lakers refused to trade him for Kyle Lowry and re-signed him rather than Alex Caruso but Talen Horton-Tucker has emerged as the backcourt candidate best suited to pair with Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup.
The Lakers signed Ellington, Monk, Nunn, Bradley, and Bazemore looking for a 3&D backcourt mate for Russell Westbrook only to discover they already had the player they needed in 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker. While the sample size is just three games without LeBron James, THT appears to have hit the ground running, unleashing a remarkable third year breakout after missing the start of the season due to thumb surgery.
In his first three games of the season, Horton-Tucker has averaged 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 34.3 minutes per game with solid 49.0/40.0/100% shooting splits and the third best net rating on the team. Talen has not only earned a major spot in the rotation but also has a shot to win starting shooting guard if he continues to play near this level. It’s totally intoxicating to think about the impact this version of THT could have.
Talen will have to prove his 3-point shooting is for real but his confidence is high and he trusts the work he’s put in to improve his mechanics and muscle memory and is not at all surprised that he has gotten off to a great start.
Could Westbrook and Horton-Tucker Be Lakers’ Backcourt of the Future?
Once the Lakers traded for Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker went from a likely starter to an unlikely starter as Russ, LeBron, and AD need to be surrounded by proven 3-point shooters, which as a career 28.5% THT is not.
Ironically, the Westbrook trade could have undermined THT’s career with the Lakers. Before the trade, talk was of Talen possibly starting this season. Once the trade was made, the Lakers aggressively signed multiple shooters. Everything suddenly changed for Talen and starting seemed like a long shot. Talk was he and Russ were both were poor shooting, paint-seeking, rim-attacking, ball-dominant guards who couldn’t win playing together.
While three games is not enough to make a reliable judgement, the elite play of Horton-Tucker over the last three games has been extremely encouraging, especially the solid 40% completion rate from deep on 6.7 threes per game. That’s the high volume, high percentage 3-point shooting the Lakers need next to Westbrook. THT’s Kawhi-sized hands, 7′ 1″ wingspan, low center of gravity, and physicality at both ends make him a perfect fit next to Russ.
In the three games played with THT, Russ averaged 19.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists in 33.7 minutes per game with 43.5/31.5/81.3% shooting splits. 10 assists and 4.7 turnovers per game is mostly Good Russ. Over the three games, Russ and THT combined to average 42.6 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 12 assists. They shot 36.1% on 12 threes per game and were two of just three Lakers players with positive plus/minus and net ratings.
While Russ and Talen won’t get the same touches and opportunities when LeBron returns, they could be one of those unexpected outside-the-box pairings that could become a Lakers’ championship staple at both ends.
What does a Westbrook/Horton-Tucker Backcourt Mean for the Lakers?
The Westbrook/Horton-Tucker Lakers backcourt sets the stage for the Lakers to recreate the physically dominant small ball lineup they used to win their 17th NBA championship over the Miami Heat in the bubble a year ago.
Rob Pelinka and Frank Vogel’s vision for this Lakers team is similar to the vision they had for the championship team except more offense. Basically, the Lakers want to physically dominate opponents with size and athleticism. Pairing the 6′ 4″ 234 lb Talen Horton-Tucker with the 6′ 4″ 200 lb Russell Westbrook gives the Lakers a more physical and athletic backcourt than this year’s Westbrook/Bradley backcourt or the KCP/Green bubble backcourt.
Of course, to make this work, Russ and Talen need to shoot better from deep than they did last year, when Westbrook shot 31.5% from three on 4.8 attempts per game and Horton-Tucker 28.2% on 2.9 attempts per game. That’s why the injuries have been so frustrating because they’ve prevented the player for whom the offensive and defensive schemes were created from playing. But LeBron is close to returning and Ariza not far behind.
Aside from pairing two alpha dog rim-attackers who can regularly contribute 20 points per game, Russ and THT bring an elite level of physicality on defense Ellington, Monk, Nunn, Bradley, Bazemore, or Reaves could not. With Westbrook at the one, Horton-Tucker at the two, James at the three, Ariza at the four, and Davis at the five, the Lakers would have five players with the athleticism and physicality to dominate their opposing counterpart.
Even the Lakers didn’t expect Talen Horton-Tucker to have elevated his game to this level, although they obviously knew it was coming. Their big gamble to keep him instead of trading him may have just started paying off. What I love most about Horton-Tucker going off is the news has been lost in the articles by the gloating anti-Lakers media over the team’s early season struggles. They didn’t even notice yet that Talen Horton-Tucker has arrived.
Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, James, Ariza, and Davis would be a bully ball starting lineup that could play the style of rotating defense the Lakers’ championship team did but with a lot more offensive firepower.
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Here’s hoping he can sustain this level of play both through the grind and alongside LBJ, at some point.
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It will be challenging, especially if LeBron is back, but I love the idea of a backcourt of Russ and Talen defensively and physically. Only question is whether they can both shoot enough to create spacing. And definitely need Ariza to play the four so LeBron can play the three and AD the four. That would be just as good a defensive team as the bubble championship season but a dramatically better offense with a pair of potential 20-ppg 6′ 4″ bully ball scorers.
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Nice post Tom, Once LeBron is back, I think if we stay small I think THT will stay at the 3 at least until Trevor is back. I think the Lakers as well as myself prefer Melo with the 2nd unit.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWhile it’s still early and we haven’t even seen some players play yet, we’re starting to see enough to make a reasonable projection how the Lakers’ starting lineup and depth chart will look come December and January.
While integrating superstars LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook has been challenging, the Lakers still appear to be committed to playing all three superstars to both start and close games and halves. While Frank Vogel hedges his comments by saying there will be times when the Lakers will play two bigs, he also appears firmly committed to Anthony Davis starting and closing games and playing major minutes at center.
Let’s take a look at the Lakers’ roster to see who are favorites to start and the likely candidates to backup the starters when everybody is healthy in December and January heading towards the February 10th trade deadline.
Lakers’ Projected STARTING LINEUP Once Everybody Is Available
With Russell Westbrook at the one, LeBron James at the four, and Anthony Davis at the five locked in to start and finish games and halves, the Lakers’ starters at the two and three will need to provide key spacing and defense.
While Avery Bradley has been starting at shooting guard, it’s unlikely he will be able to hold onto the starting job once everybody is healthy. Like Kent Bazemore, Avery’s future is likely to be a defensive specialist off the bench. That leaves Wayne Ellington, Malik Monk, Kendrick Nunn, and Austin Reaves as the remaining candidates to start at shooting guard. Reaves is a rookie and Nunn hasn’t even played yet and is best fit to backup Westbrook.
That leaves Ellington and Monk as the remaining two top candidates to start. Ellington is kind of the favorite and has slowly been shooting like his resume while Monk is the more versatile option as an uncanny three-level scorer. What will separate the two in coach Vogel’s mind is defense. Monk’s 99.3 defensive rating is the best for any Lakers player who has played in six or more games compared to Ellington’s 8th ranked 107.5 defensive rating.
Talen Horton-Tucker has been starting at small forward and will likely be given the opportunity to retain that role going forward because, while he is only 6′ 4,” he has a 7′ 1″ wingspan and physical strength to play the three. Horton-Tucker’s biggest issue starting alongside James, Davis, and Westbrook is his ability to space the floor with 3-point shooting. The Lakers are giving THT a chance before the trade deadline to prove he can start.
Come December and January, I would not be surprised to see the Lakers’ fivesome that starts and closes games and halves to be Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk, Talen Horton-Tucker, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.
Lakers’ Projected DEPTH CHART Once Everybody Is Available
Just as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook were locks for the starting lineup, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are sure to be the primary backups for LeBron James at the four and Anthony Davis at the five.
Who will be the primary backups for the one, two, and three is less certain. Rondo’s recent excellent play has reinserted him into the competition with younger Kendrick Nunn to be Westbrook’s primary backup at point guard. While Nunn will get most of the backup minutes at the one, Vogel’s will also give Rajon enough spot minutes to keep him involved and ready to turn into Playoff Rondo once the Lakers finish the season and get into the playoffs.
Assuming Malik Monk starts at the two, Wayne Ellington should beat Avery Bradley out for the primary backup at shooting guard. Vogel still likes Bradley so he’ll get spot minutes as as on-ball defender and spot up shooter. Since Ariza has only played the four the last four seasons and lacks the footspeed to play the three, the Lakers’ backups for the undersized Horton-Tucker at the three will fall to the more undersized Bazemore or Reaves.
Frankly, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kent Bazemore, and Austin Reaves are really shooting guards masquerading as small forwards. The Lakers have a serious shortage of bigger (6′ 6″ to 6′ 8″) 3&D wings that needs to be addressed. Expect the Lakers to keep a close eye on the emerging trade market as the ‘No Trade’ restrictions for Kendrick Nunn ($5M/Year) expire on December 15, 2022 and for Talen Horton-Tucker ($15M/Year) on January 15, 2022.
The Lakers are going to have to make a trade for a bigger 3&D wing like Jerami Grant or Cam Reddish to fix their roster imbalance. The problem is their only major trading chips are Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn. Players like Monk or Ellington, while not making large salaries, still have value for teams needing shooting. The Lakers also don’t have Nunn’s or Monk’s Bird rights, so trading them for the right player could be appealing.
In the end, the Lakers have a serious roster imbalance that will require a major trade at the deadline to fix. Fortunately, the Lakers do have some valuable trading chips to swap to get the bigger 3&D wing they need.
Right now, the Lakers are struggling because of injuries and the trade for Russell Westbrook caused them to undergo what is the equivalent of a metamorphosis from a traditional two-big team to one-big small ball team. Transforming the team to small ball with AD at the five for the entire regular season was hard enough without integrating eleven new players. The injuries to James, Davis, Ariza, Nunn, Ellington, and THT have not helped.
Considering the challenge, the Lakers could easily have a worse record than 8–7. The team just needs to get healthy. With LeBron slated to return Friday against the Celtics and Ariza soon to practice, the Lakers will be fine.
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Very rosy outlook and I hope youre right. Like Rondo I think the team will be the better for Ariza not needing to contribute in a major role until the playoffs. Maybe some spot duty at the 3/4. I also don’t think we’re close to seeing the “set in stone” starting 5 Frank talked about in camp. I think we’ll see another 15-20 games of experimentation and match up fiddling. The King needs to come back and stay back or it’s all debating fringe issues. No King, no ring.
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There’s no question, no king, no ring is where we are. No LeBron and AD performing like they did in the bubble or no ring. But that’s always been the case in the NBA. Injuries determine who’s going to compete for that ring. That’s not going to change.
It’s discouraging because the Lakers really made the Russ move partly to get AD at the five but also to get the ball out of LeBron’s hands to reduce his workload and hopefully extend his career. So far, that’s been derailed by LeBron getting injured again. Father Time hasn’t been able to degrade LeBron’s physicality and play by much so far but he has been able to slow James down with the damn injuries. Injuries are often the first sign of decline.
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We can’t ignore the other major issue right now, which is our small forwards consist of THT (6′ 4″), Baze (6′ 4″), and Reaves (6′ 5″). There guys are all really shooting guards. Lakers only have three guys in the 6′ 6″ to 6′ 8″ range: LeBron, Ariza, and Melo. Lakers going to have to fix that at the trade deadline, which means THT and Nunn are likely to the chips we use to do it.
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The Lakers’ only forwards on the roster are LeBron, Ariza, and Melo.
All of them are at their best when playing the 4.
And 2 of them are hurt
— Josh 🍉 (@josh2saint) November 17, 2021
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That issue has been clear since camp. Problem is we have to trade youth for size, performance for potential. We’re in a pretty tight spot
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Lakers will have to be hopeful that a quality defensive guy gets bought out, that’s really the only hope they have as it allows them to keep THt, Nunn, Mink or whomever and waive DAJ so he can retire. If we end up trading THt, Nunn or Monk were honestly just kinda treading water.
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I would like to keep THT but we’re for sure going to lose Nunn and Monk. It would be great to get somebody like PJ Tucker from the buyout market but I think we need to find a long term starter like Cam Reddish or make the move to trade for Myles Turner and move AD and LeBron back to the 4 and 3. We need to get back to small ball on steroids, not AD and four guards. Going to take a trade to do that.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreCould the solution to the fit and spacing problems the Lakers are having with lineups with their superstar big three be as simple as breaking them up and playing them in pairs to have two superstars on the court at all times?
There’s no question Frank Vogel faces serious challenges trying to find two complementary starters who can defend at a high level, shoot and make the three, and fit with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. That’s not an easy challenge with a healthy roster and the Lakers’ injuries only make it more daunting. At the heart of the problem is the enigmatic Russell Westbrook and the perpetual quest to figure out with whom he fits.
Here’s the gist of where I’m going. Basketball in essence is a two-man game. That applies to both role players and superstars. Creating chemistry and building a winning roster around two superstars is easier than with three. The Lakers should optimize Russ by pairing him alone with James or Davis rather than with both of them. That would simplify building winning lineups and enable the Lakers to have two superstars on the court all the time.
So let’s take a look at whether it makes sense for the Lakers to prioritize two superstars on the court for the entire game versus trying to make clumsy overcrowded three-superstar starting and closing lineups work.
1. The Two Superstars On the Court All of the Time Full Option
This is the option that makes the most sense for the Lakers as it still has all three superstars starting and closing games while also having at least two superstars on the court all of the time between the game start and close.
We’ve seen how Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis can play winning basketball without LeBron James the last two games. If Vogel started AD at the five, the Lakers might have won both games easily versus in overtime. With LeBron injured, Vogel simply has more options and can more easily put together winning five-man lineups around two rather than three superstars. Suddenly, there’s opportunities for Monk and Ellington to earn minutes.
The Lakers would still start and close games with all three superstars but would only play two superstars to end first half or start second half and use those minutes to have two superstars on the court for the rest of the game. Having two superstars on the court for the rest of the game is a better use of Russell Westbrook than giving him more minutes with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in cramped lineups with questionable defense or spacing.
The Lakers would be a better balanced team with Russ playing 12 minutes more per game with LeBron and AD against the other team’s reserves than struggling to fit with James and Davis in a superstar big three lineup.
2. The Two Superstars On the Court All of the Time Lite Option
Of course, there is another option should the Lakers want to avoid the difficulty of building lineups around three superstars entirely, which is to cut Westbrook’s minutes and pull him from the starting and closing lineups.
That’s not something I expect the Lakers to do but could be an option if Russ continues to struggle playing alongside LeBron and AD. It at least gives the Lakers a optional off-ramp short of trading Russ if he continues to struggle. In other words, instead of the Lakers playing all three superstars together to start and end each half, why not think out-of-the-box and instead prioritize always having two superstars on the court for all 48 minutes of the game?
Basketball by its nature is a two-man game and building a rotation featuring lineups headed by LeBron and AD, LeBron and Russ, and Russ and AD could be smarter than trying to force a LeBron, AD, and Russ lineup to work. In the last two wins, we’ve seen it’s easier to build balanced five-man lineups with two rather than three superstars. The Lakers might be a better team by focusing on two instead of three superstars and limiting Russ’ minutes.
Two superstars on court the entire game could be a smarter way to take advantage of having a superstar big three than trying to build winning lineups surrounding three superstars with elite defense and shooting.
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Watching the Lakers with just two superstars has been intriguing, mainly because it’s so much easier to build effective balanced lineups when you have three spots open than just two sports.
That raised the question of could the Laker prioritize playing with two superstars all of the time versus maximizing the minute all three superstars played together.
While it seems obvious that a team tries to play all three together as much as possible, the result is that there are times when there are only enough minutes left for just one superstar during the middle of the game.
On the other hand, focusing on always having at least two superstars on the court at all times could act7ually make the Lakers a better and more dangerous team.
The truth may be that the Lakers’ lineups with two superstars and three defenders and shooters could be better lineups than shoehorning three superstars into a lineup that doesn’t have enough shooting or defense.
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Going to be a really positive “which superstar sits in crunch time?” convo for Frank. We’re moving quickly through the “this team is a potential juggernaut” theories into the more realistic “the Lakers have a lot of work in front of them to make this functionable” points of debate and desperately want to avoid at any cost “this really doesn’t work very well” territory” line of reasoning.
The problem has been that hasn’t worked very well even with 2 superstars and no LeBron. The main issue being that we are old and these guys were never brought here to play major roles. THT returning may help that, we’ll see. Based on the amount of questions we all had about his improvement over the summer it stands to reason he has a lot to potentially prove. If he can become any kind of positive catalyst it’ll help everything work better.
The real issue I see looming over the next month or so as we wind the calendar year down and deals are guaranteed is we are almost through the home-heavy, underwhelming opponent portion of the schedule. We’re going to have to forge an identity on the road where Carmelo has been shooting miserably. He’s really been the best release valve thus far for our offensive struggles and if he’s not hitting we don’t usually win.
How we come through December is basically going to define the challenges this team will face: can we stabilize the ship and not play down to inferior teams, compete hard every night-every quarter-in every game, or are we going to linger near the bottom of the seeding bracket and maybe have to go through a play-in game? Pretty sure we’d all like to avoid those kind of scenarios.
Need to get healthy and need to get the main pieces playing together which really has yet to happen. So far we’re Brooklyn 2.0 with main pieces sitting and some of the better role guys not being available for whatever reason. Talent only gets you so far, chemistry and defense need to be a lot more present on this team and I just haven’t seen that consistently. Not yet, anyhow.
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No team is gonna take Westy. Impressed with THT and ain’t letting him go. Monk, Ellington and Baze 2-17 from 3. WE LOSE!
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreCould the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Myles Turner resolve the ongoing internal conflicts caused by head coach Frank Vogel wanting to play two bigs and superstar center Anthony Davis prefering to play power forward?
While the Lakers initially committed to moving Davis to the five to make the trade for Westbrook work, unexpected early season injuries and Vogel’s stubborn reluctance to play small ball have so far undermined the decision. Frank’s always been true believer that defense starts with rim protection, which is why his first instincts are always to go big rather than small, despite the Lakers having protected the rim better when playing small than big.
While Anthony Davis is better playing center than power forward, let’s examine whether the Lakers could be better if they were to trade for Turner so AD could play his preferred four and Vogel his preferred two bigs.
What Are the Pros and Cons of a Turner and Davis Twin Towers?
Trading for Myles Turner and starting him at center could be a franchise defining move that would stabilize, diversify, and upgrade the Lakers’ front court and make them championship contenders for the next five years.
Aside from enabling Vogel to play two bigs and Davis to play the four, Turner at the five would immediately give the Lakers the defensive rim protector and offensive floor spacer they’ve been trying to acquire the last three years. Adding the 25-year old Turner’s league third best 2.7 blocks per game and 41.2% 3-point shooting on over five threes per game would transform the Lakers’ defense and offense for this season and the foreseeable future.
Suddenly, the Lakers would have their own version of a twin towers front court with the 25-year old Turner and the 28-year old Davis who could put a lid on the basket defensively while still being able to play five-out offensively. Starting Turner at the five would enable Davis to limit his minutes and avoid the banging of playing center and let James focus on playing point forward and becoming the elite 3&D wing the Lakers have desperately needed.
The Lakers’ roster right now badly needs bigs who can protect the paint and stretch the floor like Myles Turner instead of low post traditional centers like DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard who can be played off the court.
Will Turner Be Available and Do the Lakers Have Enough Assets?
The Lakers have long coveted Myles Turner as the perfect defensive rim protector and offensive floor stretcher. The upcoming trade deadline may be the perfect opportunity for the Lakers to make a mega trade for Turner.
The Indiana Pacers are off to a 3–7 start under returning head coach Rick Carlisle, which makes them 13th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, still struggling with the difficult on-court fit between Sabonis and Turner. While Carlisle was brought in to make the Pacers’ two 7-foot 250 pound centers work, he’s already started to stagger Turner’s and Sabonis’ time on the floor to avoid those troublesome, inefficient twin towers lineups.
Unless something changes before the trade deadline, the Pacers are almost guaranteed to look to move Turner since Sabonis is the franchise player. With strong interest in Turner, could the Lakers make a competitive offer? The answer is the Lakers could and should go all-in for Myles Turner. The Lakers should offer Talen Horton-Tucker ($10M/Year), Kendrick Nunn ($5M/Year), and Malik Monk ($2.6M/Year) for Myles Turner ($18M/Year).
Next to LeBron James, Myles Turner is the best possible fit next to Anthony Davis in the league today. He is the perfect front court mate to play next to AD and lead the Lakers to championships for the next five years.
How Would Turner Trade Impact Lakers’ Championship Quest?
Trading for Myles Turner is the Lakers’ guaranteed ticket to a championship. He not only makes the Lakers a juggernaut offensively and defensively but also saves wear-and-tear on injury prone LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Myles Turner could have a bigger impact on the Lakers’ championship hopes than Russell Westbrook because he helps solve some of the serious floor spacing and perimeter defensive problems caused by the trade for Russ. Integrating Turner would be child’s play compared to integrating Westbrook. Myles’ 41% 3-point shooting will help the Lakers’ starting lineup spacing while his 2.7 blocks per game will help their perimeter defense.
While the Lakers would give up the 20-year Horton-Tucker, the 26-year old Nunn, and the 23-year old Monk, they would be getting the durable 25-year old Myles Turner, who has averaged 65 games over his six-year pro career. While giving up a home grown star like THT is painful, he’s still two or three years away from being a starter and Nunn and Monk don’t have Bird rights so there is no realistic way the Lakers would be able to keep them.
What it comes down to is the Lakers would be trading the tomorrow of 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker for the today and tomorrow of 25-year old Myles Turner and an improved chance to win their 18th championship.
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Watching LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing the four and five has always been my perfect roster goal for the Lakers. However, I’m starting to wonder whether this is a smart way for LA to go considering LeBron’s age and AD’s tendency to get injured.
Then there’s also Frank Vogel’s stubborn obsession with playing two bigs and Anthony’s preference for playing the four, not to mention LeBron’s recent preference for shooting the three. While I want both of them playing closer to the rim, getting Frank to play shooters to spread the floor may be problematic.
At any rate, I’m starting to think the solution to this dilemma is for the Lakers to trade for Myles Turner, who will surely be moved by the Pacers at the trade deadline. In a recent article, here were the three trades suggested for Myles Turner in a Clutch Sports article:
3) San Antonio Spurs
Spurs receive: Myles Turner
Pacers receive: Thaddeus Young, Tre Jones, Spurs’ 2022 first-round draft pick and Spurs’ 2024 second-round draft pick2) Dallas Mavericks
Mavericks receive: Myles Turner
Pacers receive: Dwight Powell, Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Green and Mavericks’ 2025 first-round draft pick1) Oklahoma City Thunder
Thunder receive: Myles Turner
Pacers receive: Isaiah Roby, Theo Maledon and Phoenix Suns’ 2022 first-round draft pickI think an offer of Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and Malik Monk would easily trump any of these three offers. The Lakers could include DeAndre Jordan if the Pacers want a back up center or a future first round pick if that is an issue.
At any rate, trading for Myles and starting him at the five with AD at the four and LeBron at the three would stablize the Lakers front court with a 25-year old center in Turner and 28-year old power forward in Davis. Lakers would then have the perfect front court to go small or play two bigs.
More importantly, the Lakers would have two young centers who were elite rim protectors and floor stretchers. The Turner trade would be the final move to make the Westbrook trade work because the Lakers would have the spacing to unleash Russ on offense and the rim protection to cover his lapses on defense.
This is now my top priority for the Lakers 2021-22 season. Frank wants two bigs. AD wants to play the four. LeBron wants to shoot the three. Turner helps resolve all of these issues and could transform the Lakers into a younger and more powerful juggernaut of a team at both ends of the court.
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Aloha Tom, I’m sorry but that would be terrible for the team. It’s painfully clear so far that the Lakers need more guys not named LeBron that create offense. Your trade sends all 3 of those guys on the team away. It’s clear that we need a better defender than Bazemore for the smaller quick guards in the league. Nunn is the one guy on the team capable of doing that but your trade sends him away. We need more wing defenders. THT is a wing defender but he’s gone. And these moves elevate a clearly washed Rondo into the back up point guard spot. I think once we actually are healthy we will see AD playing most of his minutes at center. He actually is, even though he’s not starting.
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Thanks for reading and commenting, Michael. We’ll have to disagree. Adding Turner solves so many problems that it’s unquestionably a massive upgrade to our rim protection and floor spacing as well as a big help keeping LeBron and AD healthy.
I don’t have your faith that Nunn can be our starter at the 2 because he is too small and not a good defender. I also doubt that THT can be the starter because he is not a good enough 3-point shooter. Finally, I think Monk has already shown that he is a liability on defense.
Bottom line, THT is not ready to start and Nunn and Monk don’t have Bird rights so are only rentals and will leave for free agency this summer. Better to cash them in now. There is no trade the Lakers can make that will have the positive impact on the Lakers’ championship hopes or LeBron and AD’s health than Myles Turner.
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Turner is going to be traded and the team that gets him will become a contender. Lakers would be pressed to have enough to trade for him, especially if THT makes himself untradeable. But adding Myles still makes a world of sense when you consider what Frank, LeBron, and Anthony prefer to play.
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Honestly I don’t think our paint defense is as bad as it looks. it’s mostly because we’re getting blown by on the perimeter, back door cuts for easy buckets when the big gets pulled out of the paint on a switch and things like that. Lakers a re a top 10 in blocks team, we’re doing a decent job at the rim. Leak outs, bad perimeter D and things of that nature are what’s sinking the ship.
Not sure there’s a single player that can repair this issue, honestly. We’re old and a lot of the guys are on minimum deals. This is untenable situation magnified by injuries.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWith superstars Russell Westbrook at the one, LeBron James at the four, and Anthony Davis at the five, the Los Angeles Lakers desperately need to find starters at the two and three who can space the floor and play elite defense.
The Lakers originally hoped Wayne Ellington might start at the two and Trevor Ariza at the three but both have been injured and have yet to play. There have also been concerns about Wayne’s defense and Trevor’s health. Right now, Vogel has settled on Avery Bradley and Kent Bazemore to start at the two and three with the Lakers’ three superstars. Whether they can hold onto those jobs when Ellington and Ariza get healthy is up for debate.
With three superstars who are not elite 3-point shooters and a defense first head coach like Vogel, the challenge facing the Lakers is to find starters at the two and three who are both elite defenders and long range shooters. Whether Vogel can find the right starters at the two and three with the shooting and defense to complement James, Davis, and Westbrook from the collection of aged shooters the Lakers signed as free agents is doubtful.
In the end, the Lakers need younger, more talented starters at the two and three than Bradley and Bazemore or Ellington and Ariza. Here are two key trades that would dramatically upgrade the Lakers’ starting lineup.
1. TRADE WITH BOSTON CELTICS FOR MARCUS SMART
With Boston’s early struggles and Marcus Smart’s dissatisfaction with his role, could the Lakers lure the Celtics to trade the 27-year old shooting guard for 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker and 23-year old Malik Monk?
Giving up two promising young stars in their early 20’s would be a high price for an elite defender and average 3-point shooter like Smart but Horton-Tucker is still two years away and Monk too expensive for Lakers to re-sign. The Lakers are in full win-now mode with the Westbrook trade and adding Smart as a lockdown defender and starter at the two would enhance Los Angeles’ chances of winning another championship in the LeBron era.
As a member of the 2019 and 2020 NBA All-Defensive First Teams, Marcus Smart could be the perfect shooting guard for the Lakers considering his elite defense. He’s not a great 3-point shooter but is not afraid to let shots fly. Smart would give the Lakers the elite defensive stopper at guard they currently do not have. While Marcus only shot 34.7% from three the last three seasons, he did still average almost 5.5 3-point attempts per game
Tempting the Celtics to trade an elite defender like Smart would be costly. Offering a package of two budding young stars in Horton-Tucker and Monk should be enough to convince the Celtics to move Marcus Smart.
2. TRADE WITH ATLANTA HAWKS FOR CAM REDDISH
With the Atlanta Hawks hesitating to give Cam Reddish an extension, the door may be open for the Lakers to offer a straight up trade of combo guard Kendrick Nunn for 6′ 8,” 217 lb 4-year veteran small forward Cam Reddish.
Since the Lakers will likely not be able to re-sign Nunn, whom they signed with their $5 million MLE this offseason, flipping him for the bigger Reddish whom they would be able to re-sign would be a smart move going forward. The Lakers’ greatest weakness is a lack of wings who have the size to defend the bigger wing scorers in the league like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram, Chris Middleton, and DeMar DeRozan.
Cam Reddish is the perfect defense first candidate to start at the three just as Marcus Smart is the perfect defense first candidate to start at the two. Both are elite defenders but high volume, low percentage 3-point shooters. Reddish has great potential defensively and if he continues to improve his 3-point shooting, he could become an invaluable starter on a championship Lakers team. For sure, he would give the Lakers an elite wing defender.
With the Hawks having issued expensive extensions to Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, and Clint Capela, there’s a good chance the Lakers could trade Kendrick Nunn for Cam Reddish to be their starting three.
SMART AND REDDISH WOULD UPGRADE LAKERS STARTERS
Imagine a new lethal Lakers’ starting lineup for the second half of the season with Russell Westbrook at the one, Marcus Smart at the two, Cam Reddish at the three, LeBron James at the four, and Anthony Davis at the five.
Trading for Marcus Smart and Cam Reddish would give the Los Angeles Lakers a dramatic upgrade at starting shooting guard and small forward over Avery Bradley and Kent Bazemore or Wayne Ellington and Trevor Ariza. More importantly, the trade would only cost three young players, two of whom the Lakers would not be able to re-sign next summer, and allow them to keep Bradley, Bazemore, Ellington, and Ariza as valuable backups.
Having traded THT and Monk for Smart and Nunn for Reddish, the Lakers would then have 14 active players on their roster and one opening. Here is what their depth chart would look like for the second half of the season:
PG: WESTBROOK, Rondo, Reaves
SG: SMART, Ellington, Bradley
SF: REDDISH, Bazemore
PF: JAMES, Anthony, Ariza
CE: DAVIS, Howard, JordanTrading for Smart and Reddish dramatically upgraded the Lakers’ starting lineup, especially defensively. They essentially replaced two starting role players with two elite defenders better equipped to win a championship. The Lakers also replaced two key young players in Nunn and Monk whom they were sure to lose to free agency next summer with two tradeable young players who are better fits for what the Lakers need going forward.
Rob Pelinka knew the roster he gave Frank Vogel was a flawed roster that would have to be corrected at the trade deadline or buyout market. Right now, Smart and Reddish top the Lakers’ list of likely trade targets.
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While it’s great to see the Lakers Superstar Big Three play well together, 7 points from Baze and 2 from Bradley is not the kind of role player support we need to win a championship.
The Lakers are going to need to make moves to upgrade the shooting guard and small forward starters. Bazemore and Bradley are obviously the best option we have right now. Time will tell us whether Ellington and Ariza are better options. Frankly, I don’t think any of these four players are good enough.
I’m still struggling with the Lakers serious lack of trading chips at the deadline and the reality that there is almost no way they will be able to re-sign Nunn or Monk because they lack Bird rights. The Lakers need to flip both players for guys whom they will have Bird rights and be able to re-sign.
With Vogel now committed to going small and playing AD at the five, the Lakers need much better defense from the starters at the two and three than Bazemore, Bradley, Ellington, or Ariza can likely provide. The smart move is to trade THT, Nunn, and Monk for two new starters with the other four guard/wings becoming the Lakers’ depth at the two and three.
There are and will be other potential candidates as Lakers’ starters at the two and three but right now, the best prospects are Marcus Smart and Cam Reddish. Trade for them and the Lakers will immediately be the favorites to win their 18th NBA championship and will have set themselves up for more titles going forward.
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Aloha Tom, at this point I’m just interested in what we look like once we get all our guys back. THT, Nunn and Ellington should all be back in the next couple of weeks. I have a feeling we will be okay. The bigger question for me besides our lousy first half defense, was how do we get other players involved in the offense. Melo is arguably the hottest shooter in the NBA and we only managed to find him for 9 shots in 29 minutes. We ran almost no actions for him. Heck DJ got up 5 shots in 16 minutes. AD and Russ went 0 for 7 from 3. Neither are shooting well enough to be taking many 3’s. We got away with our big 3 dominating but when play better defense teams we really need to get more players involved in the offense.
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Thanks for reading and commenting, Michael. Hope all is going well for you in Hawaii.
We’ll have to disagree as I’m not convinced that Bradley/Bazemore or Ellington/Ariza are good enough to start on a championship team in a non-Covid season. Seriously, are they better than KCP/Kuzma? I can say for certain that adding Smart and Reddish would be a dramatic upgrade to our starting lineup. I’m surprised you don’t see that.
While I am a firm believer that Russ will be a major upgrade over Schroder, I think the competition now that we’re not in the bubble has gotten dramatically better and winning a championship will be harder than in the bubble, even with a superstar big three.
The other issue I know we differ on is THT. While I love Talen’s game, he’ needs to improve his shooting and defense and is still a couple of years away from being a force. For the win now Lakers, we can’t wait.
Finally, there’s no way we’re going to be able to keep Nunn or Monk due to no Bird rights so it makes sense to flip them for better starters who have Bird rights so we can build a roster for longterm.
Could we trade for Smart and Reddish? I think we can but there are also other players out there who would be good fits for the Lakers. Vogel will demand they be elite defenders. I still have interest in Myles Turner and Kelly Olynyk as centers. And we definitely need a bigger (6′ 8″) defensive wing like Reddish.
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Still 6 weeks before we can even entertain the notion and we haven’t even seen 3/5 of the guys who were projected as potential starters or the higher contract signees play, yet.
Smart would indeed be awesome but there’s no way Brad is trading him to us to help us pass the Celtics. Any dream deals with the Celtics are DOA, my man.
Cam would be cool, as well, maybe Atlanta wants to flip him for something but since they’d be in the same boat as us (young player, no rights, how top keep?) I think they’re really just going to let the market dictate his value next summer and be just fine with that. Maybe if we grease the wheel with a 2nd round pick but not too sure that really moves the needle and there are teams that could do better on both the player and pick front.
The issue isn’t just all the minimum deals it’s that the guys on value contracts aren’t even playing yet. Who wants to trade a proven commodity coming off an injury before they’ve seen them play at least a little. The injuries to those 2 guys specifically has set everything back until they play at least a handful of games, maybe more.
Lakers may have to make do with what’s in-house, maybe look to buyout/waive Dwight or DAJ and just be active on the buyout market in a few months.
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Thanks for reading and commenting, Jamie. The easy answer is always that the Lakers don’t have what it takes to make the trade. I think the Celtics would be very interested in being able to swap Smart for THT and Monk. That’s a lot of talent for a player who’s becoming a problem in the locker room. And Nunn for Reddish is a move the Hawks would likely welcome.
The issue for me is two-fold. First, I don’t think Bradley/Bazemore or Ellington/Ariza are good enough to win a championship. They’re basically just this season’s versions of KCP/Kuzma. The Lakers need UPGRADES to the starting lineup, Jamie. Not placeholders. Smart and Reddish would be dramatic upgrades. Those are the kinds of players the Lakers need to add to the starters.
Second, I don’t want to go into the offseason with zero trading chips, which is what is going to happen to us when Nunn and Monk, two players who we don’t have any Bird or early Bird rights to be able to compete to re-sign them. We need to move them at the deadline – as well as THT – to get players to upgrade our starting lineup. This is not the bubble and we right now are not good enough to win a championship without changes. Our competition is not going to stand pat. Nor should we.
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re: Smart. Brad Stevens won’t trade him to the Lakers for any reason at all. He will not be complicit in us winning another banner.
Although I did say he would be a welcome addition.
re: Cam. Hawks are big market team that runs like a small market. He’s an URFA next summer. He’s a great backup talent for them or a trade chip in February, or whenever the trade deadline is since it doesn’t even matter right now because we haven’t even hit the threshold for the contracts we signed LAST summer to be tradeable.
But, also as I said, I’d be quite pleased were he to end up as a Laker.
Rather my issue with this article is you:
A) Can’t trade any of these guys we signed this summer, yet. 3 months or 12/15. Then we can entertain these kind of notions although the number of deals made that early in the season are few and far between and almost always centered around a disgruntled player.
B) We haven’t even seen Nunn or THT play really. Talk about a lack of faith, lol.
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Talen Horton-Tucker offers the perfect example of how Los Angeles Lakers fans approach what has to be the most exciting home-grown talent in purple and gold since Kobe Bryant. Is THT poised to become the Lakers’ next superstar? Or is he just having a temporary ascension because of three great games with LeBron James and several other key players missing due to injury? That’s the big question to which we will get a partial answer tonight against the always hated Boston Celtics.
How high am I on THT? Still not sure whether the 3-point shooting is for real, although 40% on 6.7 threes per game and the 12 for 12 from the line in these three games support that Talen has improved his long range marksmanship. But can he continue to hit those threes as the season goes on. Frankly, whether THT wins the starting shooting guard position next to Russell Westbrook will depend on whether he can stretch the floor and create the spacing the Lakers need from their starting shooting guard and small forward.
As for starting at small forward, I think Vogel will keep him in the lineup. If LeBron returns tonight, I beleive he will replace Melo in the lineup. Melo is much more effective playing just reserve minutes off the bench rather than starting. Frank will want to move him to the bench if Bron plays. Since Ariza will be returning soon, then the question arises whether he replaces
Bradley or THT. Statistically and fit wise, there’s little doubt that THT’s offense and defense are superior to Avery’s.
Will THT end up being the Lakers’ answer at the two and maybe the team’s next superstar? I believe that’s still a possibility. I also believe that Talen’s trade value will sky rocket this season, which could leave the Lakers still possibly trading him for a big 3&D wing like Jerami Grant or Cam Reddish. It will all come down to what the Lakers need most by the trade deadline and how well Talen is shooting the three and whether he has really enjoyed a third-year breakout season or just a brief shiny blip.