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Could Trading Trezz & Dennis Be the Lakers’ Route to Saving This Season?

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One thing the Lakers have learned playing without their two superstars is which role players can still do their job, fill their role, and provide value and which players don’t have the talent and confidence needed to go it alone.

Watching the Lakers regroup after losing Davis to injury and then trying to do the same after losing James has been an illuminating experience for the team, it’s front office and coaching staff, and the other teams in the NBA. Any lingering sense of invincibility the defending champions may have had has been rudely dismissed as opponents see a wide open opportunity with the injured Lakers either limping into or possibly even missing the playoffs.

Fortunately, the Lakers still have 3 days until the March 25 trade deadline to to fill their needs for a legitimate lead guard, volume 3-point shooters to turbocharge the offense, and better rim protection to anchor the defense. Unfortunately, their best trading chips to get help until LeBron and AD return are point guard Dennis Schroder and center Montrezl Harrell, who also happen to be the two most needed players to help weather the storm.

Without LeBron and AD, the Lakers find themselves in a conundrum where their third and fourth best players — Schroder and Harrell — while gamely playing their hearts out may just not good enough to survive this stretch. The issue is the Lakers need more playmaking and 3-point shooting at point guard than they’re getting from Schroder and more rim protection and pick-and-roll defense from the center position than they getting from Harrell.

Having desirable trading chips for the positions you’re looking to upgrade can be a good thing in most situations. Teams need other players to fill the positional holes in the roster made whenever they trade a rotation player. Unfortunately, when a team is already shorthanded when it comes to point guards and centers as the Lakers are, it makes it hard to trade Schroder without getting a point guard back or Harrell without getting a center back.

The Hornets have three quality point guards in LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and Devonte Graham and are interested in Montrezl Harrell but the Lakers can’t trade Trezz unless they have a center replacement lined up for him. That’s why Pelinka is going to have to set up a series of two or three trades to successfully revamp the roster to survive this period and fill the holes to make the Lakers a better team at both ends of the court before the playoffs.

There’s always a hesitancy and reluctance, especially among fans, to break up a championship roster but the Lakers’ current situation right now is so dire they need major changes to avoid falling completely out of contention. That means making multiple trades to fix their needs for more playmaking, volume 3-point shooting, and improved rim protection. It’s like President Biden’s position on Covid relief: the bigger gamble is not doing enough.

There are opportunities out there for Rob Pelinka and the Lakers to take advantage of. The Pelicans want to move Lonzo Ball. The Hornets are interested in Montrezl Harrell. The Pacers may be willing to trade Turner. Drummond may find starting center for the Lakers his best option. Harrell’s and Schroder’s trade value may be peaking and the Lakers have KCP as salary ballast and THT and their 2027 first round pick as sweeteners.

Best of all, LeBron James’ injury has suddenly given Rob Pelinka the freedom to make dramatic moves without great fear of blowback, not unlike a player given the chance to launch a half court shot at the buzzer.

Does LeBron Injury Change What the Lakers Do Before the Trade Deadline?

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The Los Angeles Lakers got a brutal reminder of how one play could change the destiny of a team’s season when an ankle injury to LeBron James left the team facing the prospect of several weeks without their two superstars.

The good news is the both James and Davis should be recovered before the 2021 NBA Playoffs begin on May 22nd and the Lakers still have four days left to seek help via a trade or buyout before the March 23rd trade deadline. Before the injury, the media consensus was the Lakers were unlikely to make a major move but, with James’ and Davis’ return being unpredictable, there’s an emerging strong case for Rob Pelinka to be bold and think big.

Even healthy, the Lakers faced a tougher challenge to win the championship this season than they did in the bubble last season since the Jazz, 76ers, Suns, Nets, Clippers, and Bucks having improved their rosters over last year. With both superstars suffering major injuries that could linger into the playoffs, the Lakers desperately need help in the form of a star quality playmaker to run the offense and elite rim protector to anchor the defense.

The most optimistic projections would have Anthony Davis and LeBron James possibly returning in two to three weeks, which would still mean the 28–14 Lakers would have to play 7 to 11 games without their superstars. The worst case scenario would have Davis missing up to 4 weeks more and LeBron 8 weeks, leaving the Lakers fighting for playoff positioning and their two superstars fighting to get into shape the last 2 to 4 weeks of the season.

LeBron’s injury could have dire consequences for the Lakers’ playoff hopes. After tonight, the Lakers could own just a 2-game lead in the loss column over the 7th place Spurs and only 5 games over the 10th place Grizzlies. Anything other than a best case scenario could easily leave the Lakers having to participate in the 2-game win-or-go-home Play-In Tournament between the West’s 7th through 10th seeds just to get into the playoffs.

The Lakers have 30 games left in the regular season. In a best case scenario, they’ll only lose their superstars for 10 games and have 20 to make up ground. In a worst case scenario, those numbers could easily be reversed. Complicating the situation, James’ and Davis’ injuries are the kind where the Lakers won’t know when they’re ready to play until they’re ready, which could make it imperative for Rob Pelinka to make a big move right now.

The silver lining is LeBron’s injury has answered the question of whether the Lakers need to make major moves to improve their roster. Now the question becomes what are the specific moves the Lakers should make. Before LeBron’s injury, the Lakers’ major needs were high volume 3-point shooters and an elite rim protector. Now you can add a true point guard capable of creating quality shots for himself and teammates to the list.

While Myles Turner would be the ideal solution as a rim protector, the Lakers would be smart to save their trading chips for a playmaking volume 3-point shooter and get a Drummond or Whiteside via the buyout market. Until LeBron returns, the Lakers will desperately need somebody to replace his elite playmaking and volume 3-point shooting. Three available players who could fill that need are Kyle Lowry, Devonte Graham, and Lonzo Ball.

Lowry would be the perfect solution if the Raptors decide to move him. But Kyle makes $30.0 million and it would cost a package of Schroder, Harrell, and KCP, which is just too much for the undermanned Lakers to give up. Convincing the Hornets to give up Graham is also going to be difficult as he only makes $1.6 million per year, which makes it hard for Charlotte to get value in a trade. Best offer would be THT and a 2027 first round pick.

That leaves polarizing former Lakers’ point guard Lonzo Ball, who makes $11 million per year and will become a restricted free agent this summer, as the ideal trade target for Los Angeles to go after to cover for LeBron’s injury. Lonzo is averaging 14.2 point, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in 31.7 minutes per game while shooting 42.5% from the field, 38.5% from deep on 7.8 threes per game, and a greatly improved 76.7% from the free throw line.

While Ball is polarizing for many Lakers fans, he’s the perfect point guard to pair with Dennis Schroder and has developed into an excellent 3&D guard who knows how to play off the ball alongside ball dominant star players. The Lakers might be able to trade Lonzo for a package of KCP and THT. A salary controlled KCP could be a great fit as the replacement for Bledsoe and Redick at shooting guard with THT’s elite potential as the sweetener.

A Lonzo Ball and Dennis Schroder starting backcourt with Drummond at center could be exactly what the Lakers need both in the short term until LeBron and AD return as well as in the playoffs when everybody’s healthy. The playmaking, volume 3-point shooting, and defensive switch-ability Lonzo brings would dramatically improve the Lakers starting lineup. As a bonus, trading for Lonzo would prevent him from joining the Clippers.

Rob Pelinka has a big challenge on his hands to make the right decisions to enable the Lakers to weather the short term without LeBron and AD while still making key moves to upgrade the team’s roster for the playoffs. Landing a quality playmaking point guard who’s also a volume 3-point shooter and good defender plus an elite rim protector who won’t get played off the floor in the playoffs is not going to be easy without giving up depth.

There’s no question LeBron’s unfortunate injury has dramatically changed everything. What Rob Pelinka and the Lakers decide to do the next four days could be critical to their chances of repeating as NBA champions.

Can ‘Bench Big Three’ of Trezz, Kuz, and THT Transform Lakers’ Season?

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In the wake of Anthony Davis’ injury, the Los Angeles Lakers might have discovered how to transform their season with the emergence of a ‘Bench Big Three’ of Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Talen Horton-Tucker.

In the first three games of the second half of the NBA season, Trezz, Kuz, and THT have combined to score 45.7 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 13.3 assists in 17.7 minutes per game as the Lakers swept their first 3 games. During this win streak, the Lakers posted the league’s 5th best offensive and defensive ratings and 2nd best net rating while missing their starting power forward and center in Davis and Gasol and best defender in Caruso.

Harrell led the way, leading the Lakers in scoring followed by James and then Kuzma and Horton-Tucker. The bench’s 64.3 points per game was league best while the decimated starters 59 points was worst in the league. Trezz averaged 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks in 28.8 minutes; Kuz 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists in 28.1 minutes; and THT 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists in 23.8 minutes per game.

While the breakout performances from Harrell, Kuzma, and Horton-Tucker were not against elite competition, they reflected major strategic changes in the Lakers’ half-court offense that could transform the Lakers’ season. Basically, the Lakers replaced their iso-heavy half court offense with a pick-and-roll dominated, share-the-ball approach that unleashed Harrell as a roller, opened lanes for Horton-Tucker, and created open threes for Kuzma.

The heart of the change in the Lakers’ half-court offense was the renewed focus on Montrezl Harrell in pick-and-rolls, which is why he averaged 20 points per game and won 6MOY honors with the Clippers last season. Needing a boost in scoring from the bench with Davis, Gasol, and Caruso out, Frank Vogel turned to Harrell and Trezz delivered. It was a move the Lakers should have taken greater advantage of the first half of the season.

The 3-game result was better ball and player movement, a jump in team field goal percentage from a league 8th best 48.1% to a league best 55.2% and assists from a league 17th best 24.5 to a league 3rd best 31.0 per game. Just as importantly, the Lakers increased their league 25nd 35.1% 3-point shooting to a league 4th best 41.3% and their league 8th best 22.8 free throw attempts per game to a league best 30.7 free throws per game.

Leading the charge to get the Lakers’ ‘Next Man Up’ mentality working was team captain LeBron James, who averaged 21.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 11.0 assists in just 32 minutes per game over the 3-game winning streak. Compensating for Anthony Davis’ injury and taking advantage of Joel Embiid’s injury to regain leadership in the regular season MVP race, LeBron posted back-to-back triple-doubles leading the Lakers to the last two wins.

Damian Jones capably filled in for starting center Marc Gasol averaging 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 17.8 minutes while Markieff Morris added 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds replacing the inured Anthony Davis. Jones is slowly showing the decision to give him a second 10-day contract was prescient as his 108.5 offensive rating, 98.3 defensive rating, and 10.2 net rating were among the best on the Lakers for the 3 games.

The big question, of course, is were these three games just an anomaly? After all, Kuz, Trezz, and THT only averaged 13.8, 11.5, and 7.2 points per game before the last 3 games when they averaged 23.0, 19.0, and 13.3. While it’s doubtful the Lakers’ ‘Bench Big Three’ is going to perform at this level going forward, there is definitely optimism that the Lakers may have discovered how to get their bench going, even without LeBron and AD.

The Lakers have 3 more games before the March 24th trade deadline, including an important rematch Sunday with the rising Phoenix Suns, who beat the Lakers in their first game this season and are second in the West. That will be the big test for the Lakers’ ‘Bench Big Three’ and is likely to be the last game before the trade deadline. If Trezz, Kuz, and THT are able to continue their torrid play, it’s likely they’ll still be wearing purple and gold.

In any event, the last three games have shown the Lakers a potential path towards not only surviving but also winning while Anthony Davis is out. That’s something that could transform the Lakers’ championship hopes.

Do the Lakers Need to Rethink What They Need from the Center Position?

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In retrospect, the Lakers need to rethink what they need from the center position because signing JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell as the team’s centers the past two years was a mistake.

The Lakers should look at Anthony Davis, their prototype modern center who can shoot threes or attack the rim on offense and protect the rim or guard the perimeter on defense, to see what they need from their centers. What the defense-first Lakers don’t need are old school low post defensive or offensive centers who can’t stretch the floor with 3-point shooting or play the trapping, doubling, and rotating championship defense the team plays.

JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard proved to be unplayable against most opponents in the playoffs last year as they lacked the mobility, speed, and quickness the Lakers needed to trap, switch and defend on the perimeter. Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell face a similar fate in the playoffs this year as their inability to block shots and protect the rim leaves them vulnerable to being played off the court defensively despite their value on offense.

The problem is the Lakers don’t appear to have learned from their mistakes picking centers the last two seasons as they are now supposedly pursuing centers who’ll solve rim protection issues but be unplayable in the playoffs. The Lakers need to trade for a starting center like Myles Turner or Nerlens Noel rather than settling for another team’s discards like Andre Drummond or Hassan Whiteside who can solve one problem but then create another.

Drummond and Whiteside might be able to help hold down the fort for the three to five weeks until Anthony Davis returns but both have the same perimeter defensive liabilities that ultimately doomed McGee and Howard. Signing one of them is like applying a band aid to a badly broken bone. After Anthony Davis’s recent injury scare, there’s no way the Lakers want to see him again playing 50% of his time at center come this year’s playoffs.

Myles Turner and Nerlens Noel are two trade candidates who are talented and young enough to be permanent rather than temporary solutions to the Lakers’ need to find a center to complement and protect Anthony Davis. Both are top-five rim protectors who are younger than Anthony Davis and have the physicality, athleticism, and toughness to protect him from having to defend bigger bruising centers like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.

Besides being top-five shot blockers, Turner and Noel have diverse offensive or defensive skill sets that set them apart from limited one dimensional centers like McGee, Howard, Gasol, Harrell, Drummond, and Whiteside. Turner is the prototype modern offensive center who can shoot the three and throw down lobs while Noel is the prototype modern defensive center who can both protect the rim and switch onto and defend smaller players.

In short, they simply can’t be played off the court defensively in the playoffs like the old school centers the Lakers signed over the last two years or are looking at from the buyout market, which is why they’re worth trading for. While it’s always difficult to break up a top-ranked defensive team, the Lakers know they will need a better rim protector in the playoffs than Gasol or Harrell or adding Drummond of Whiteside will be able to provide.

Defending their championship against the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz, or Brooklyn Nets will be a tougher challenge than the Lakers had to face in the bubble against the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and Miami Heat. The Lakers need a solution to their center conundrum that works in the regular season and the playoffs. Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, or some other candidate from the buyout market is not the right answer.

The Lakers would be smart to trade for Myles Turner or Nerlens Noel to permanently solve their rim protection issues, add a young starting center to protect AD, and double down on their championship caliber defense.

5 Things: Lakers outlast Timberwolves and keep the streak going

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The Timberwolves came in to STAPLES having beaten one of the NBA elites and feeling good. A young team riding high can be a dangerous thing in the regular season. Teams like the Lakers are built for the more structured and evenly paced style of the playoffs whereas the T’wolves want to run and gun, play loose and fast. It took a few quarters but the Lakers found the formula that allowed them to beat Minnesota. In so doing the Lakers remained unbeaten since the All Star break.

From one of Minnesota’s favorite sons, RIP O Purple One.
  1. The King and Monstrezzl pick and roll. That’s not a typo, BTW, Trezz has been a monster of late hence the moniker. That pick and roll looks like it could be the new unstoppable Laker weapon, at least against defenses that don’t understand how to level Trezz off and stop him from hitting the paint in stride. Similar to how James and Caruso ran PnR last season, when they’re playing smart and the defense isn’t keyed into it there’s no stopping it. That play should be good for at least one bucket per game and one misdirection to the trigger man in the corner which also happened the last time they ran it. Wes missed the three but the play is a good one and bears repeating especially in our fairly one-dimensional offense.
  2. Wes Matthews getting it done on D. With Caruso out we’ve been out one of our best defenders and it’s been really nice seeing Wes Matthews contributing on that end. he also canned a couple threes but it was his defense that helped stymie the Timberwolves, especially in the second half. Wes has not had a great season, had a scary collision early with Karl-Anthony Towns, but shook all that off to contribute to a gritty Laker win. Assuming the Lakers don’t make a big splashy move it’s imperative that we unlock some of our under-performing players. Seeing Wes contribute within the role he was brought here to perform was great to see.
  3. Laker bench finding an identity. Injuries in the NBA happen, it’s just one of those things that every team has to overcome. The Lakers had really struggled with their identity since AD went down and especially when Schroder was out. The Laker bench rotation went through several iterations before landing on this current one where Morris replaces AD in the line up and everyone else pretty much sticks to their role. Bringing in Damien Jones further solidified that look once we lost Gasol. Wes has stepped into Caruso’s role well enough and the result has been a more balanced Laker attack post ASB. I’m sure getting in an actual practice helped as well (based on a recent ESPN article the Lakers have practiced 5 times since camp broke. 5. Let that sink in. Not sure if that reflected any work done over the break but, at best, that would make it 6 or 7 practices in total.) The bench has become a major stabilizer behind the stellar play of Trezz and Kuzma along with the emergence of THT.
  4. Speaking of Talen Horton-Tucker… Kid was balling again last night. Stu Lantz has been pretty spot-on with his game-to-game analysis of THT and being pretty fair in his judgement of both his growth and areas he still needs work on. Defense is the biggest thing and that’s understandable, this is for all intents and purposes THT’s rookie season and he’s shouldering a large chunk of responsibility as the season goes along. He’s impressing his coaches and LeBron James, no small feat, and you can see the game slowing down for him on offense. The work he needs to put in on defense is legit but I think that he’s on the perfect team to get better on that end. My only critique of Talen on offense is to not always drive the ball to the rim. That is predictable and teams will start to bait him into it. Take those open threes a little more frequently, live with the results if they come organically and the floor will open up even more.
  5. Speaking of three pointers… The Lakers made a bunch of them last night (13-26 good for exactly 50%). The Lakers, by design, are not going to be among the elite three point shooting teams in the NBA, we lack the personnel and the offense isn’t really designed to create those looks. They happen more organically off the quite traditional and old school inside-out methodology. In this case usually off of Schroder, James or THT collapsing the defense and kicking it out. We weren’t letting those shots fly early on but it feels like we’ve turned the corner on that issue and are taking the open three more consistently. Given the talent of our squad, when healthy, that ought to be enough. I don’t have a hard number I’m fixated on in terms of how many threes is appropriate for us to take per game. Let success by your guide and if they’re falling for you…well, shoot more. If they are not keep moving the ball and finding the open man. Old school hoops still has a place in the game. Even moreso when the playoffs role around.

All in all a decent win. Could have been a trap game but, since I didn’t call it (you’re welcome, Gerald) it would appear we didn’t fall in. LaMelo Ball returns to LA on Thursday, should be fun. The Rookie of the Year debate is essentially between LaMelo and Anthony Edwards so we’ll get to see both back-to-back. Good stuff.