When looking at the Los Angeles Lakers roster, one need is apparent: outside shooting. The Lakers signed several young and athletic players, but the 3-point shooting remains a concern.
Since LeBron James joined the team, Los Angeles has always seemed light on 3-point shooting which seems counterproductive in today’s NBA.
However, Rob Pelinka addressed the issue and noted that the team’s perceived shooting woes could be fixed via a trade or internal improvement. “Listen, again, I think looking at the roster as a whole there’s no perfect roster that takes care of every single need in a game. You could go through all 30 teams and find things that they have or don’t have,” Pelinka said at Lakers Media Day.
“I think in terms of shooting, we know that’s a needed skill. Some of that can come from outside by additional roster moves or roster moves during the season. But shooting growth can also come from within and we do feel like there are players on our team this year that you’re gonna see that growth. And I know that coach sees that as well and has confidence in this group of guys and how they’re gonna be able to score the ball.”
Darvin Ham also chimed in, explaining that their 3-point shooting should be fine with the spacing they generate with their defense:
“It’s one of those things where it’s just not trying to find specialists. We want basketball players and we’re gonna get enough reps day in and day out from the 3-point line once we come out and develop and establish our spacing, our running habits. Those things are gonna open up and we have very confident players from that range that’s gonna be able to get stuff done from the perimeter.
“But again, the best offense is having a great defense. Being able to create turnovers, being able to create fast break opportunities, being able to collapse the defense because you are running and not playing against a set defense and that we want scrambling. The way Bron sprays the ball out, the way Russ sprays the ball out, AD…they’re gonna give their teammates time for this and we’ll be able to make threes. Again, it’s a day-by-day process and more reps you get, the more confidence you get. But we’re extremely confident in our roster’s ability to make shots from that range.”
Since Ham became head coach, he has emphasized the need for defensive excellence which James echoed as the team’s biggest area of improvement. There’s precedent for a Lakers team winning it all on the back of their defense, and it appears that’s the formula they’re shooting for again.
Teams dissuaded from trading for Bogdanovic due to desire for long-term contract extension
One name that was heavily linked to the Lakers in the trade market was Bojan Bogdanovic. The veteran sharpshooter was moved to the Detroit Pistons despite several contenders looking to acquire his services. But it appears those teams were dissuaded from trading for him because he wanted a long-term contract extension.
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