The Lakers don’t need a trade to repeat as champs but the chance to make a mega trade for All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, modern young center Chris Boucher, and young shooting guard Terrence Davis is too good to pass up.
Here are the details of the proposed trade. The los Angeles Lakers receive Kyle Lowry, Chris Boucher, and Terrence Davis. The Toronto Raptors receive Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell.
While giving up three proven young stars like Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell is an expensive price to pay, landing Lowry, Boucher, and Davis could fill three major holes in the Lakers’ roster. The Lakers need a third superstar to reduce reliance on LeBron James and Anthony Davis, proven shooters willing to take and make more threes, and better rim protection and 3-point shooting from the center position.
This trade would give the Lakers a highly coveted third superstar in Lowry, three accurate and prolific 3-point shooters in Lowry, Davis, and Boucher, and a modern young center in Boucher who can rain threes and block shots. With the Clippers, Nets, 76ers, Jazz, Bucks, and other competitors looking for ways to improve their rosters at the trade deadline, this is a dream trade opportunity the Lakers should jump upon immediately if available.
Few trades are wins for both teams but this could be the exception as the win-now Lakers get the third superstar, shot blocking, and 3-point shooting they need while the rebuilding Raptors land three promising young stars.
1. LONG NEEDED THIRD SUPERSTAR
Kyle Lowry is a perfect fit as the third superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The 34-year old,16-year veteran All-Star guard is the playmaking, elite 3-point shooting point guard the Lakers need.
The 6′ 0,” 196 lb Lowry would be a major upgrade over Schroder at both ends of the court. He’s averaging 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists on 34.7 minutes per game while boasting 3-year best 43.3 /38.2/87.3% shooting. Meanwhile, Dennis is averaging 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 31.5 minutes per game, shooting 44.1/31.0/82.5%. He’s special but not the proven playoff tested 3-point shooter and defender Lowry is.
Lowry’s championship resume and playoff experience, gravity as a prolific and accurate 3-point shooter, and across-the-board superiority are exactly what the Lakers need as a third superstar to optimize LeBron and AD.
2. MORE 3-POINT ATTEMPTS AND MAKES
The additions of Lowry (38.2% on 7.5 threes per game), Davis (40.3% on 3.5 threes per game), and Boucher (43.8% on 3.6 threes per game) will go a long way towards improving the Lakers’ weak 3-point shooting performance.
Right now, the Lakers rank 26th in 3-point attempts at 30.3 per game and 13th in shooting percentage at 37.1%. Lowry, Davis, and Boucher took 14.6 threes per game compared to just 6.9 threes for Schroder, KCP, and Harrell. Taking 7.7 more threes per game would elevate the Lakers attempts to 38.0 per game, jump them to 7th in the league, and create needed spacing for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the other teammates to attack the rim.
The biggest weakness of the Lakers 9th ranked offense is 3-point shooting. Swapping Lowry, Davis, and Boucher for Schroder, KCP, and Harrell could give the Lakers a top rated offense to go with their top rated defense.
3. RIM PROTECTION AND SPACING AT CENTER
Chris Boucher is exactly what the Lakers need to fix their center problems. He’s the perfect modern center who can stretch the floor to create spacing on offense and protect the rim and defend on the perimeter on defense.
The 28-year old, 6′ 9,” 200 lb Boucher is averaging a career best 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 23.2 minutes per game. He’s the perfect center to backup Marc Gasol and eventually take over as the Lakers’ starter. While he’s only played 116 games in his career, Chris is enjoying a breakout year with the Raptors, shooting a red hot 43.8% from deep on 3.6 threes per game, which is a monster jump from the 32% he shot before this season.
A bouncy athletic jumper, the untested Boucher is a totally different kind of small ball center than the proven Harrell but his ability to protect the rim and shoot the three ball make him a better center prospect for the Lakers.
Trading Schroder, Harrell, and Caldwell-Pope would be a dramatic move for the Lakers but worth it to acquire a third superstar in Lowry, three great shooters in Lowry, Boucher, and Davis, and a modern center in Boucher.
With a starting lineup of Lowry, Matthews, James, A. Davis, and Gasol and a deep bench of Horton-Tucker, Caruso, T. Davis, Kuzma, and Boucher, the Lakers would be heavy favorites to repeat as 2020–21 NBA champions. Meanwhile, the Raptors add a lightning quick point guard in Schroder to replace Lowry, a dynamic young center in Harrell to replace Boucher, and a proven shooting guard in KCP to upgrade Davis off the bench.
While the Raptors revitalize their team with proven young talent, the Lakers get what they need to optimize LeBron’s championship window and repeat this season as NBA champs and possibly threepeat next season.
I really like this trade for both the Lakers and the Raptors. I seriously think it’s a great trade for both teams.
The best player in the trade is obviously Kyle Lowry, who’s having a great year for a struggling Toronto team that’s looking to cash in on him while he’s still playing well. While Boucher is not the proven star Harrell is, his shot blocking and 3-point shooting are a better fit for what the Lakers need at center. While Terrence Davis is not the proven vet KCP is, he’s an excellent young player who is shooting lights out.
Landing three proven young stars like Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell is a great return for the Raptors. They’re still capable of competing in the east so getting three young stars is better than draft picks. Adding Schroder, KCP, and Harrell to VanVleet, Siakam, and Anunoby would give the Raptors a great young core.
The fact that the struggling Raptors are looking to move Lowry and the Lakers recent struggles show how much they could use a third star, a shot blocking center, and better and more prolific 3-point shooters could give this trade a better chance of happening than slim and none. It really does give the win now Lakers and slumping Raptors what they need right now.
Lowry > Schroder (Lakers win)
Harrell > Boucher (Raptors win)
KCP > Davis (Raptors win)
Lowry, Boucher, Davis = Schroder, KCP, Harrell (Both win)
PG: LOWRY, THT, Cook
SG: MATTHEWS, Caruso, T. Davis
SF: LEBRON, Kuzma, McKinnie
PF: A. DAVIS, Morris, Dudley
CE: GASOL, Boucher, Open
Lowery is too old and too hurt. Can’t give up Trezz, too good and too energizer bunny.
I like this trade for a lot of reasons. I also don’t like it for a lot of reasons. I am all for trading KCP at this point, just hasn’t looked right for most of the season, feels like we replace the bounce and energy departing with Trezz in Boucher and we kind of break even with Lowry for DS.
I don’t like it because we lose both youth and playoff experience. Of all the guys coming in only Kyle has PO experience worth mentioning, that could be an issue but may break our way.
Basically I feel this would be the best version of Lowry we would be getting and Schroder’s best years are likely still ahead. This is one of my favorite trades you’ve dropped here, makes sense across the board. You lose, you gain, hard to say how it would work out on the court. Lowry isn’t the most ball dominant PG in the league, which is a good thing.
Thanks, jamie. It’s always hard to judge trades where you’re giving up players you really like, which is why most trades that are proposed are usually rejected by the the fans, or so unfavorable to the other team to be laughable.
Can’t disagree we’re giving up some future for win now in Lowry but the chance to add a third quasi-superstar, a lot more 3-point makes and takes, and a bouncy young modern center prospect are too good to be true, which is why the trade’s not likely to happen.
The trade was my spinoff from the trade I posted from Twitter that had Toronto giving up Baynes instead of Boucher. I would not have done that trade because I like how Harrell is playing at center but I would give up Trezz for Boucher. Happy Valentines Day!