The biggest mistake Rob Pelinka could make would be to fail to get LeBron James the help he needs to win another NBA championship. Right now, the Lakers desperately need better rim protection and volume 3-point shooting.
The problem is almost every one of the Lakers’ competitors are also looking for shot blockers and 3-point shooters, which makes their chances of filling their desperate needs via the buyout market an extremely long shot at best. As defending champs, the Lakers do not want to panic and break up their championship roster or hurt their great team chemistry and culture, which likely eliminates making a major trade for a star or superstar player.
The good news is here are three small trades that could bring back an elite rim protector and three high quality, high volume 3-point shooters without the Lakers having to give up any of their long term core rotation players.
1. Montrezl Harrell for Nerlens Noel and Reggie Bullock
This is a trade of backup centers by the league’s top two defensive teams with shooting guard Reggie Bullock included to match salaries. All three players are on expiring contracts and will become free agents this summer.
The Lakers make the deal because they get an elite shot blocker in Nerlens Noel who also has the mobility and athleticism to switch and defend smaller players on the perimeter, which is key to their trapping rotating defense. The Lakers also get a high quality, high volume 3-point shooter in Reggie Bullock, who’s averaging 38.1% on 4.5 threes per game, both of which would rank 3rd on the team for 3-point percentage and 3-point attempts.
The Knicks get needed instant offense off the bench in backup center Montrezl Harrell, reining 6th Man of the Year. Trez would give New York’s 23rd ranked offense desperately needed firepower in their playoff run.
2. Wesley Matthews and 2nd Round Pick for Wayne Ellington
This is a trade of older veteran shooting guards with the Lakers including a second round pick to sweeten the deal for the Pistons. Both players are on expiring contracts and will become unrestricted free agents this summer.
The Lakers make the deal because they’re in a win-now mode and need a high quality, high volume 3-point shooter like Ellington. Trading for Ellington, who’s averaging 43.5% on 6.2 threes per game, would help fix the problem. Right now, the Lakers have a negative 3-point differential of 2.7 points, making a 27th ranked 10.8 out of 30.8 attempted threes for 35.1% while allowing a 5th ranked 11.7 out of 32.6 attempted threes for 35.8%
The 10–25 Pistons meanwhile have the 29th worst record in the league and are in full rebuilding mode. Acquiring a second round pick by swapping Ellington for Matthews helps collect assets and improves their draft status.
3. Talen Horton-Tucker for Devonte Graham
This is a straight 1-for-1 player trade of backup lead guards. Both players are in the last year of their contracts and are expected to decline their qualifying offers and become highly coveted restricted free agents this summer.
The Lakers make the deal because they’re in a win-now mode and need the volume 3-point shooting and playmaking skills at which Graham excels. Devonte is shooting 35.5% on 6.8 threes and averaging 5.7 assists per game. While the 20-year old Horton-Tucker arguably has a greater upside, the 23-year old Graham’s 3-point shooting and playmaking are right now a better fit than THT to be the Lakers’ backup point guard for Dennis Schroder.
The 17–18 Hornets have put together an exciting young roster and the addition of LaMelo Ball and emergence of Terry Rozier have made Graham expendable. Trading for THT would give Charlotte another future star.
The addition of Nerlens Noel, Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, and Devonte Graham would give the Lakers the elite rim protector and high percentage, high volume 3-point shooting to repeat as NBA champs.
Defensively, Noel would give the Lakers the shot blocking rim protector they miss without McGee and Howard. His impact would definitely give the Lakers’ top ranked defense a big boost the rest of the season and playoffs. More importantly, the addition of Noel would enable the Lakers to stagger his minutes with Davis to keep an elite shot blocker on the floor the entire game and allow the Lakers to have two mobile bigs to close out games.
But the biggest impact of the trades would be how they transform the Lakers offensively from a poor 3-point shooting team with a differential of -2.7 points to an elite team with a top-two 3-point differential of 9.5 points. Bullock, Ellington, and Graham combined to aake 196 out of 509 threes for a respectful 38.5% the first half of the season while Harrell, Matthews, and Horton-Tucker made just 49 out of 161 threes for a disappointing 30.4%.
Replacing Harrell, Matthews, and Horton-Tucker with better high volume shooters like Bullock, Ellington, and Graham could enable the Lakers to make 147 more and attempt 348 more threes the second half of the season. Making 147 additional threes over the last 36 games could generate 441 points or 12.3 points per game, giving the Lakers a +9.6 differential, which would have been second best for the first half behind the Jazz’s +16.8 points.
The impact of how Noel could upgrade the Lakers’ defense while Bullock, Ellington, and Graham could transform the offense is a perfect blueprint for the type of moves Rob Pelinka needs to make at the trade deadline.
This may be my favorite article I have ever written for Lakerholics. I believe it’s the perfect blueprint the Lakers need to follow to fix their rim protection and 3-point shooting problems. While it’s not a deal for a superstar or star player, it could transform the Lakers defensively and offensively.
I’ve always been a big fan of Nerlens Noel and he’s been playing great for the Knicks, who have the second best defense in the league but only the 23rd best offense. Swapping backup centers should be a win-win for both teams. Lakers get the rim protector and mobile rotating big they need to bolster their defense and a quality volume 3-point shooter to boot. Knicks get the instant offense off the bench they need to turbo charge their defense.
The deals for Ellington and Graham show that the Lakers can not only fix their negative 3-point differential but can actually transform their team into an elite 3-point shooting team. Replacing Harrell, Matthews, and THT with Bullock, Ellington, and Graham turns the Lakers into a 3-point shooting juggernaut. Those three take 18.8 threes per game versus 5.2 threes per game for the three players they replaced.
There are other centers who could fill the same role as Noel and a few other shooters who could fill the volume 3-point shooting role of Reggie, Wayne, and Devonte so this article is as much a blueprint for what Rob Pelinka and the Lakers should be looking to do as it is a recommendation of players to target in trades.
Please read and let me know what you think. Would love to see these kinds of moves during the All-Star break.
15 PLAYER DEPTH CHART:
PG: SCHRODER, Caruso, Caldwell-Pope
SG: GRAHAM, Ellington, Bullock
SF: JAMES, Kuzma, McKinney
PF: DAVIS, Morris, Dudley
CE: GASOL, Noel, Jones
Schroder and Graham give Lakers ability to have a true point guard on the court all game long.
Davis and Noel give Lakers ability to have an elite rim protector on the court all game long.
Lol, Reggie Bullock….again? It didn’t work before, it’s not gonna work now. My trade met your standards much better.
Come on, Gerald. You can to do better than nit picking one player who’s currently shooting more threes at a higher percentage than anybody but two players now on the Lakers.
I was hoping for some serious conversation about how Noel would address our rim protection problems and how adding Bullock, Ellington, and Graham totally changes the kind of 3-point shooting team we are.
And tell me what is ‘your’ trade that meets my standards much better? You know how frustrating it is when you spend a lot of time on something you believe in and then just get a flippant response, especially from a friend and fellow blog editor.
These three trades could solves the Lakers biggest two problems: defensive rim protection and offensive 3-point shooting. Let’s talk about whether they do that, whether the cost is worth it, and what are the alternatives?
1. Montrezl Harrell for Nerlens Noel and Reggie Bullock – I’m going back and forth on this one. I love what Trezz brings to the team, especially off the bench. I’ve never thought of either Bullock or Noel as ‘energy’ guys. The main reason I don’t see this one happening is Mr. Thibbs. Coach Tom values defensive input and Nerlens is performing admirably in that role for the Knickerbockers. For the Knicks Trezz is less an issue to retain, they will have ample cap space so the one thing I could see that pushes this deal through is if Thibbs loves Harrell’s game (no clue). This brings a lot more overlap to how NY is playing, Julius is already the energy/bully ball guy on that team and Noel patrols the paint for them and finishes lobs. Bullock back to the Lakers also feels like a longshot as he has a fairly large role on NY. The Knicks have been down so long I think it would be odd to see them break up the first successful squad they’ve had in close to a decade.
2. Wesley Matthews and 2nd Round Pick for Wayne Ellington – No brainer, do it in a heartbeat.
3. Talen Horton-Tucker for Devonte Graham – Truth be told I don’t watch Charlotte unless they’re playing us. The stats fit the needs but I don’t know enough about DG to be all in on this one. The off season issues are replicated, which I would rather see a guy come in who is a little more cost-controlled, but all in all I see us retaining THT as an uphill battle. The Lakers seem quite high and pleased both Talen’s development and future. So, depending on what level that reaches to and what level of influence Klutch has over this process I could see a few extraneous factors derailing this one.
Also, it’s official: Blake Griffin getting bought out. Doesn’t sound like the Lakers are on the list of interested teams but…
How important would replacing Harrell, Matthews, and Horton-Tucker with Bullock, Ellington, and Graham?
Had Lakers scored 12.3 more points per game for first half of season, they would have lost only 3 games, had a record of 34-3, and a 6-game lead over the Utah Jazz.
That’s what improved 3-point shooting could mean for the Lakers. It’s the key to a Championship.
That’s not even counting how much more difficult it would be for opposing teams to defend LeBron and AD surrounded by elite volume 3-point shooters.
Or the impact of having a second rim protector in the game when AD was not on the floor or taking off a game. We have lost the points in the paint too many times this season.
Lakers need to make moves to add volume 3-point shooters and an elite rim protector. It’s the blueprint to beat the Clippers, Jazz, and Nets and repeat as NBA champions.