Look to hear a lot of veteran names coming to Los Angeles this offseason. Gay also could be a solid pickup for the veteran minimum. The Lakers would need to use their mid-level exception to bring DeRozan in - and even that is unlikely, DeRozan made $27.7 million last season, averaged 21.6 points a game, and will have teams offering eight figures for him (keep an eye on Dallas) - but he would provide buckets and some shot creation. Defense has been the Lakers’ identity the past couple of years, it’s what won them a ring, and this offseason they are adding minus defenders, and ‘Melo would be in that camp. However, San Antonio Spurs’ Rudy Gay may have found an unorthodox way to stop him. His freakish athleticism combined with his ability to score from anywhere on the court makes it impossible for opponents to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle him. Especially in the second round of the postseason and beyond, when there will only be elite teams left in the stacked West. Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis is practically unstoppable when he is in his rhythm. All those skills help give the Lakers depth in the first 82 games, the regular season.Īnthony’s defense and lack of lateral mobility at this point in his career will see him played off the floor in the playoffs, opposing teams will attack him with the pick-and-roll. He remains one of the best tough shot makers in the game. Anthony has become a solid spot-up shooter - the Lakers are desperate for shooting - and he can still create a little. Anthony averaged 13.4 points a game last season for the Trail Blazers, the team he joined a couple of years ago and where he revived his career by accepting a role off the bench.īringing in ‘Melo would be a lot like bringing in Westbrook in the sense it could help during the regular season but be problematic during the playoffs. It goes without saying LeBron and Carmelo Anthony are close going back to high school, and the Lakers certainly bend over backward to make LeBron happy. With Westbrook now headed to Los Angeles, multiple league personnel contacted by B/R expect there to be significant interest from several veterans, including DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Carmelo Anthony, to forgo higher salary opportunities elsewhere and join the Lakers in pursuit of a championship. Anthony drilled a career-best 40.9 percent from 3 last season w/Portland.
Melo has been linked to the Lakers as a possibility, given his friendship w/LeBron dating back to high school. #Lakers are “very interested” in the prospect of signing Carmelo Anthony, per a league source. Carmelo Anthony tops the list of veterans interested in the Lakers, according to multiple reports. While we can debate how much Russell Westbrook helps LeBron James and Anthony Davis come the playoffs, there is no question the Lakers are again a serious threat to come out of the West and push for another banner.Ī lot of quality veteran players may be willing to take a little less to chase a ring with LeBron.
He’s posting a Box Plus/Minus of -0.1, a perfectly acceptable number for a role player.The Lakers have their big three.
Utah Jazz should be happy with investmentĪll told, Gay has been a solid rotational player for the Jazz this season. It seems unfair to knock Gay’s grade for that, but we were looking forward to seeing the Jazz improve their versatility this year.Īt least he’s performed well at the 4. They’ve posted a +18.4 differential (84th percentile) over 450 possessions (again, per CleaningtheGlass).Īside from the data’s troubling suggestion that Gay played particularly well with Joe Ingles, it’s obvious that Quin Snyder prefers Gay at the 4 spot. That grouping has him alongside Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, Jordan Clarkson, and Mike Conley. The most frequently used lineup featuring Gay has him at his traditional 4 spot. The jury is still out on the small-ball experiment, and it looks like Quin Snyder may keep it that way. That group was posting a +33.1 differential, albeit over just 27 possessions. That’s because it swapped Joe Ingles in for Bojan Bogdanovic in that same lineup. The best lineup featuring Gay at the 5 is unfortunately no longer an option.