Buddy Hield

Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Center! Which Should Be Lakers Top Priority?

June 19, 2021 By LakerTom 5 Comments

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!

June 11, 2021 By LakerTom 14 Comments

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.

Building a Better Championship Team: Could Lakers Trade for Buddy Hield?

October 15, 2020 By LakerTom 11 Comments

We may still be a month and a half away from NBA teams being able to sign free agents and make trades but you can bet Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office are already discussing strategic moves to remain atop the NBA.

And they know for certain that the front offices of the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, and Golden State Warriors are already starting to put together plans to catch and surpass the Lakers next year. That means standing pat and rolling out the same roster that dominated and won the championship this year is not an option. If the Lakers want a chance to repeat and keep a threepeat alive, they need to get better.

That means Pelinka working with his front office and coaching staffs to identify the team’s needs and pulling off the right moves to fix the roster’s shortcomings and make next year’s Lakers an even better and deeper team. Heading the list of Lakers’ needs are a third scorer and elite 3-point shooter they can trust to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which could be challenging considering the Lakers’ limited trade assets.

The first candidate we’re going to consider to fill that role is Sacramento Kings’ shooting guard Buddy Hield, who lost his starting job last season after having signed a 4-year $84 million extension that takes effect next season. The 27-year old, 6’4,” 220 lbs Hield is a 5-year NBA vet who averaged 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 30.8 minutes per game last year, shooting 42.9% from the field, 39.4% from deep, and 84.6% from the line.

What are the Terms of the Proposed Trade?

The basic parameters of the trade would be 25-year old, 3-year veteran power forward Kyle Kuzma and 33-year old, 11-year veteran shooting guard Danny Green for 27-year old, 5-year veteran shooting guard Buddy Hield.

Should the Lakers be determined to land Hield and the Kings demanding a sweetener, the Lakers could include the 28th pick in the first round of the November 18 draft or talented young shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker.

Why Would the Lakers Agree to the Trade?

Hield would give the Lakers the reliable third scorer and elite 3-point shooter they need to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Buddy is a proven 20-points per game scorer and career 41.1% shooter from deep. While he’s not the defender Green is, he’s six years younger and exactly what the Lakers need offensively. He also has the size and athleticism to be a better defender when immersed in Frank Vogel’s defense-first culture.

While the Lakers love Kyle Kuzma’s growth as a defender, playmaker, and rebounder, the reality is he’s a starter quality player who plays the same positions as the team’s two superstars and their most valuable trading chip. The timing is also right now to move Kuzma, who will become a restricted free agent after next season and will certainly attract offers worthy of a starter, especially if he improves his average 3-point shooting prowess.

As for Danny Green, he’s still been one of the Lakers’ highest ranked players when it comes to net ratings and plus/minus despite struggling at times with his 3-point shooting and on-ball defense against small, quicker guards. While the Lakers will miss Green’s leadership and defense, Hield can slide right into Green’s starting slot and give the Lakers’ that elusive third scorer and elite 3-point shooter they need to complement LeBron and AD.

Why Would the Kings Agree to the Trade?

It’s obvious Buddy Hield has a problem with Sacramento head coach Luke Walton, who demoted him to the bench in favor of Bogdan Bogdanovic despite the Kings having just signed him to a 4-year, $84 million extension. Now that Walton’s been given a vote of confidence from new Kings general manager Monte McNair, it’s almost a certainty Hield will be moved, especially since he’s apparently refused to return coach Walton’s calls.

Luke Walton has always been a fan of Kuzma and the Kings and Lakers had discussions before the last trade deadline involving Kyle and Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Kings obviously view as Buddy Hield’s replacement. Green could slide right into Hield’s backup two guard role and give the Kings needed perimeter defense and veteran leadership. Replacing the disgruntled Hield with Green would help Walton build team chemistry.

Swapping Hield’s 4-year, $84 million deal with Green’s $15 million expiring contract makes good business sense for the small market Kings considering the uncertain economy the team is facing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The trade would also give new GM Monte McNair financial flexibility going forward. Beside addition by subtraction, it would give the Kings a chance to see what Kuzma and Green can bring without a long term commitment.

What Are the Chances the Trade Happens?

Predicting a trade in today’s NBA is like picking 100 to 1 long shots because there are so many moving pieces and other possible options for teams and many trades simply happen because of the relationships between GMs. While Buddy Hield is going to be traded, the big questions are always what do the Kings think about Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma and what are other teams willing to offer. Hield is a talented young player who will be coveted.

There’s been no shortage of NBA teams rumored to have interest in trading for Buddy Hield. At the top of the list are the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers. We’ll have to wait until the NBA and NBPA agree when teams can sign free agents and trade players to find out but we know the Kings like Kuzma, Green’s a great short term fit, and the trade frees up options for McNair.

There are bigger targets the Lakers could pursue and there’s always the issue of not wanting to commit to more than 1-year deals to save cap space to chase Giannis but there’s also the pressure with LeBron to win now. Frankly, the Lakers might be wise to jump at the opportunity to trade Kuzma and Green for a proven young talent like Hield rather than waiting and gambling again like they did with Kawhi. Hield would be a perfect fit.