The Los Angeles Lakers would be smart to prioritize fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the most important factor when deciding with whom to trade and what players to pursue to complete their unfinished roster.
It’s not like there’s a secret to building a roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. You need size so Davis can play his preferred, less physical power forward position rather than center and lots of 3-point shooting. We’ve seen the last two seasons what happens when you don’t surround LeBron and AD with players who fit as the Lakers followed their 2020 championship in the bubble by missing the playoffs two years in a row.
To upgrade the roster to give rookie head coach Darvin Ham the right players to fit the offensive and defensive schemes he brought with him from the Bucks, the Lakers goal must be to trade for three new starters. Right now, the Lakers’ current roster desperately needs more size and shooting. Neither of their young centers is ready to start and none of the starting guards has the elite volume 3-point shooting to space the floor.
The Lakers need a starting center who can space the floor and protect the rim, a starting shooting guard who can rain threes, and a starting point guard who can make plays, shoot the three, and defend his position. Trading Westbrook and draft capita for three legitimate starter quality players would not only dramatically upgrade the starting lineup but also the bench with the three players who are currently starting for L.A.
Assuming LeBron James will play small forward and Anthony Davis his favored power forward, the Lakers would then need to trade Russell Westbrook for a new starting center, shooting guard, and point guard.
Starting Center?
To replicate Darvin Ham’s offensive and defensive schemes, the Lakers need a stretch five center who can space the floor and protect the rim. It’s a critical role that the team hoped Thomas Bryant or Damian Jones could fill.
Unfortunately, neither Bryant or Jones has been up to the challenge of starting, forcing the Lakers to start injury prone Anthony Davis at the five despite his injury history and publicly stated preference to play the four. One of the Lakers top priority in trading Russell Westbrook is acquiring a modern center who can both space the court as well as protect the rim. The top candidate for that position is Indiana Pacers’ center Myles Turner.
Turner is unique as he not only allows Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward position and LeBron James his normal small forward position which gives both Lakers superstars positional size advantage. Myles Turner not only solves the Lakers need for a stretch five center ala the Bucks’ Brook Lopez but also provides the spacing to unleash superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis to cause havoc by getting to the rim.
There are other viable big man candidates who could be good stretch fits with the Lakers, including the Jazz’ Lauri Markkanen and Kelly Olynyk, but neither of them is the rim protector and shot blocker than Myles Turner is. Trading with Utah Jazz for both Markkanen and Olynyk along with Beasley and Clarkson, however, could be an attractive alternative for the Lakers to trading with the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.
While Turner will boost the Lakers’ offense, it’s what he will do the Lakers #2 ranked NBA defense that excites basketball aficionados and fans most. Turner would elevate the Lakers’ defense to be the best in the league.
Starting Shooting Guard?
While the Lakers need to upgrade their team 3-point shooting, trading for Indiana Pacers elite volume 3-point shooting guard Buddy Hield would be an immediate and massive improvement to their ability to space the floor.
The Lakers have long coveted Buddy Hield, who’s the kind of dead-eye volume 3-point shooter other teams cannot afford to leave alone because he is a career 39.8% 3-point shooter who averages 7.6 threes per game. Buddy is off to a sizzling start this season, averaging 17.8 points, 5.4 boards, and 4.1 dimes while shooting 42.7% from deep on 9.7 attempts per game, 5th behind Steph Curry, Dame Lillard, Kyrie Irving, and Anfernee Simons.
Right now, the lack of a 3-point shooting threat has enabled opposing defenses to pack the paint against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook and to limit how often they can get to the basket.
Besides Buddy Hield, the Lakers have shown interest in Josh Richardson, Eric Gordon, and other elite 3-point shooters. The fact that the Pacers have the Lakers top options at center and shooting guard makes Indy a priority.
While Buddy Hield is not a great defender, he is a great 3-point shooter. He is so dangerous that teams cannot afford to leave him alone or even to help off him. He essentially turns the game into 4-on-4 for the Lakers offense. The difference in the spacing a team gets when they play 4-on-4 vs. 5-on-5 is potentially game changing for a team like the Lakers whose superstars are not elite long range shooters who prefer to attack the paint and rim.
Buddy Hield is the perfect fit to provide the Lakers with the elite high volume, high percentage 3-point shooting they need to give LeBron James and Anthony Davis the spacing and open lanes they need to attack the rim.
Starting Point Guard
Once the Lakers trade Westbrook to the Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, they need to make a trade with the unfortunate Charlotte Hornets who may have been forced to tank by the lure of Victor and Melo injury.
The target of that trade would be Hornets’ point guard and shot creator extraordinaire Terry Rozier, who is in the first year of a massive 4-year $96 million extension that Michael Jordan might be seriously reconsidering. Dumping 4-year $96 million contracts usually cost an NBA team a first round pick. The Lakers should be able to trade for Rozier ($21M/Yr) with Beverley’s million and Nunn’s ($18M/Yr Combined) expiring contracts.
Like Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, Terry Rozier is also off to a hot start to the season, averaging 23.5 points, 7.0 boards, and 8.5 dimes while shooting 40.0% on 7.5 threes per game. Hornets are now 3–4 and 9th in the East.
Once the season hits the 20-game mark, Jordan is likely to decide the smart move is to tank the season and see if they get lucky and get a top pick, while at the same time assessing what’s going to happen with Bridges and Ball.
The biggest thing that Rozier brings to the Lakers is the ability to get a shot for himself or a teammate any time in the game. He’s the perfect replacement for Russell Westbrook in that he’s an elite 3-point shooter.
The Lakers have spent the last two years, multiple reliable role players, and a couple of sorely missed draft picks futilely trying to find somebody who could play point guard and take primary playmaking duties from LeBron.
Terry Rozier is exactly what the Lakers need to accomplish the goal of giving the ball to somebody else to make the team more versatile and dangerous and reduce the playmaking load from superstar LeBron James.
Championship Contender?
The addition of Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and Terry Rozier clearly give the Los Angeles Lakers the additional front court size and 3-point shooting to become a legitimate contender to win their 18th NBA championship.
Right now, the Lakers have the 2nd ranked defense in the league and the 30th ranked offense. The additions of Turner, Hield, and Rozier should dramatically upgrade the Lakers offensively, especially their shooting.
The addition of Myles Turner should make the Laker 2nd ranked defense even better as Darvin Ham will be able to have an elite shot blocker and rim protector on the court for the full 48 minutes of every NBA game.
The L.A. Lakers traded three players — Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn (plus two first round draft picks) — to the Indiana Pacers for three players — Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and Terry Rozier. That leaves the Lakers with 15 players on the roster plus two-way players Cole Swider and Scotty Pippin, Jr. Even after moving Westbrook, the Lakers will have $24 million in expiring contracts to use at the trade deadline.
It will be interesting to see whether the Lakers continue tweaking their roster at the trade deadline. On December 15, recently signed players will be eligible to be traded as well as players traded before October 15th.
While the Lakers won’t have any draft picks to trade at the deadline, they will have, besides James and Davis, over $65 million in tradeable contracts, including Rozier’s $21.4 million, Hield’s $21.1 million, Turner’s $18 million.
Trading Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, and two first round picks for Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and Terry Rozier would make the Los Angeles Lakers legitimate contenders for their 18th championship.
