Recently a lot of talk has been surrounding the Lakers and their quest to fill out the 2010-2011 roster. Rumors have been swirling around guard Sasha Vujacic and free-agent swing-man Shannon Brown. While Brown is technically still a free agent, the talk in Los Angeles has been about trading Vujacic in order to accommodate the re-signing of Brown.
Both scenarios bring certain pros and cons to the Los Angeles roster, but which one will benefit them more than the other? If this was strictly a monetary decision the Lakers would choose Brown. There is no doubt they can re-sign him for less than what they are currently paying Vujacic, as well as what he will be owed next season.
Rumor has it that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has been shopping Vujacic, specifically to Minnesota, in order to free up cap space and bring back the high-flying Brown.
The strange thing about this scenario is that almost every member of Lakers Nation believes Brown is a better fit than Vujacic, but that may be a slightly biased view. Brown’s acrobatics and ability to take off like a 747 are certainly going to excite the crowd much more than Vujacic’s inconsistent three-point shooting and scrappy defense. However, does that make Brown a better overall fit for the club?
Next: The Numbers Game During the 2008 NBA Finals against the Celtics, Vujacic was a key contributor in a series the Lakers lost in six games. This earned him a three year, fifteen million dollar contract extension. Since then he has struggled to remain consistent. His playing time has become sporadic at best, as head coach Phil Jackson is apparently tired of his inconsistent play.
There is no doubt that both players exhibit completely different styles of play. Vujacic is an outside shooter that can get under the skin of opponents on the defensive end of the floor. Brown is a slasher with the ability to jump over his opponents if he can’t get around them. Recently Brown has also improved his outside shooting, and the argument can be made that he is as effective as Vujacic from behind the arc.
If you just look at the numbers it would seem that Brown is a more important part to the Lakers as a whole. Brown played in all 82 regular season games in 2009-2010 as opposed to Vujacic’s 67. Brown averaged nearly 21 minutes per game while Vujacic played barely eight.
And as for the area of the floor that is supposedly Vujacic’s specialty? Brown shot 33% from downtown while Vujacic shot only 31%.
If this was strictly a numbers game the clear-cut winner would appear to be Shannon Brown. This outcome is no different than the financial decision as well, so it would make sense for Los Angeles to trade Vujacic in favor of Brown.