The Los Angeles Lakers are facing a significant issue: their offense is struggling to gain traction. This is partially due to the team’s early deficit caused by head coach Darvin Ham’s peculiar preferred starting lineup of All-NBA star LeBron James at the point, Taurean Prince at shooting guard, Cam Reddish at small forward, Jarred Vanderbilt at power forward, and Anthony Davis, who may be a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, at center. Of those players, only two—James and Prince—are consistently better three-point shooters than the average player (Davis shoots 40% from three, but he only attempts one shot per game). The current champion Denver Nuggets, tonight’s opponent, might be the solution to Los Angeles’ problems. Even though the likelihood is extremely low Denver would want to make any move to upset what has been arguably the league’s best or second-best (behind the formidable Boston Celtics) starting five, the team may decide to bolster its depth by striking a trade with one of its West rivals.
maximum-paid, prone to injuries small forward If the price is right, you could probably get Michael Porter Jr. He’s a terrific, inventive scorer (if not a particularly good passer), and he would relieve some of James’s offensive pressure. With the Nuggets, Porter is currently making $33.4 million. In a Porter trade, the Lakers wouldn’t want to give up on James or Davis, but would they be willing to let go of Austin Reaves, who Darvin Ham appears determined to underuse in a bench role that isn’t quite right? The Nuggets’ depth could be increased by a trade package that included Reaves (who made a steal of $12 million), forward Rui Hachimura ($15.7 million) (who can’t defend smaller wings, so Denver might have to swap him and Aaron Gordon positionally), and two other players.
without worries about long-term injuries from MPJ. To match the incoming money, the Lakers could use one of their underutilized backup centers (Christian Wood or Jaxson Hayes) or rookie shooting guard Jalen Hood-Schifino. Porter provides the Lakers with a fantastic offensive young player with All-Star potential, who would be the best player in that deal given that Davis and James are older and health risks anyhow. In light of his injury concerns, is he a little overpaid? Maybe, but it might be worth the risk.
