by on March 7, 2023
56 views

Starting their season with an 0-3 record, its no secret that the Lakers are in bad shape. Theyve actually had an extremely solid defense, ranking second in the league behind only the Milwaukee Bucks. But their offense has been horrid. Theyre last in the league by a mile, in large part due to their unbelievably bad 3-point shooting.Visualized Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) The team knows its weakne ses well too. LeBron James has already noted the poor shooting multiple times, noting that "we can't shoot a penny into the ocean after the Lakers went 6-for-33 on Sunday against the Trail Blazers.That followed LeBrons comments after their Thomas Vanek Jersey season opener in which they shot 10-of-40 from 3. "To be completely honest, we're not a team constructed of great shooting. It's not like we're sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team."If this team doesnt make changes to its roster, then it will be another lost season. There are a couple of very available trade targets and free agents that might be able to step in and help them.MORE: Lakers trade targets Doug McDermottMcDermott has built a nice career for himself by shooting the heck out of the ball. He's a career 41.1 percent shooter from deep, capable of shooting off movement. Unfortunately, scoring is pretty much all that McDermott contributes. He's a very poor defender.McDermott is languishing on the rebuilding Spurs, who would happily trade off the remaining two years and $27 milllion left on his contract.Duncan RobinsonMax Strus's emergence for the Heat has made Robinson very available. He's in the second year of a five-year, $90 million contract but only plays 11 minutes per game.Robinson is one of the best shooters in the league, hitting 40.6 percent of his 3's for his career on difficult looks. He can get targeted defensively, though.Eric GordonGordon has been in trade rumors seemingly forever. The former 3-point contest winner is a career 37 percent shooter from 3 and is still playing big minutes for a rebuilding Rockets team.Gordon has two years and a little over $40 million remaining on his contract.Jae Zach Parise Jersey CrowderCrowder is currently sitting out with the Suns, awaiting a trade. He's a high-volume 3-point shooter and extremely streaky, hitting 34.6 percent of his 3's for his career. He's also a solid playoff-tested defender and on an expiring $10.1 million deal.Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Suns fancy themselves a contender and are looking for at least one good player back in any Crowder trade. Unle s he's part of a 3-team deal involving Lakers draft picks, it's hard to see Crowder ending up in Minnesota Wild Jersey purple and gold.Mike MuscalaMuscala was quietly one of the best shooters in the league last season for a bad Thunder team, hitting 42.9 percent of his 3's. The nine-year veteran is in the first year of a very reasonable two-year, $7 million contract with a team option in Year Two.Josh RichardsonRichardson was once a very good prospect that showed some shot creation ability. Now, he's more of a 3-and-D role player. He hit 41.5 percent of his 3's last year playing for both the Celtics and Spurs.Richardson is in the last year of a deal paying him $12.1 million this season. He's playing only 22 minutes per game for the rebuilding Spurs.Buddy Hield, Myles Turner There has been a ton of speculation about the Pacers trading these two in exchange for Ru sell Westbrook and the Lakers' 2027 and 2029 picks. And for good reason. They would shore up the shooting woes and fit well.Hield is a total gunner, hitting 39.8 percent of his 3's on his career on high volume. Turner is worse than his reputation suggests. His looks are mostly open and he has connected on only 34.9 percent of his tries for his career.Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec BurksBogdanovic and Burks are both excellent 3-point shooters playing for the Pistons. There was hope that the Pistons would be taking a leap, but they've opened their season 1-2 with two bad lo ses to the Knicks and Pacers.If things go south, maybe these two could be on the move. Bogdanovic's $19.3 million salary and Burks' $10 million figure would require some creativity for the Lakers to match in a trade.Coby WhiteWhite has been a huge disappointment in Chicago, but the one thing he has been able to do is shoot. He hit 38.5 percent of his 3's for the Bulls last season.White was unable to agree on a contract extension with the Bulls, so he will be a restricted free agent this summer. If he doesn' Chris Stewart Jersey t fit into the team's future, the Lakers could find a way to add on his $5.8 million contract without giving up too much.Best available free agentsCarmelo Anthony, D.J. Augustin, Wayne Ellington NBA Entertainment The Lakers already cycled through many of the top free agent shooters out there that still don't have a home. They could kick the tires again on Anthony, Augustin, and Ellington, who have shot 35.5 percent, 38.1 percent, and 38.2 percent for their career.Matt ThomasThomas played spot minutes for the Bulls last year, hitting 38.5 percent of Alex Stalock Jersey his 3's. He's a great shooter, but he doesn't have great athleticism and is a weak defender.Quinn CookCook has bounced around the league his entire career and already had a stint with the Lakers in 2021. He's a career 40.8 percent shooter.Tony SnellSnell is a career 39.4 percent 3-point shooter with good positional size. His feel for the game is still very poor, even with nine years of experience under his beltDenzel ValentineValentine is a former lottery pick with a career 36 percent 3-point stroke. He's been plagued by injury, and his lack of athleticism has been a real i sue in keeping him on the court.Kemba WalkerWalker was recently waived by the Pistons. He's hit 36 percent of his 3's, but knee problems have made him a shell of himself. His defensive concerns have kept him out of the league thus far.

Posted in: Business
Be the first person to like this.