– Solid 3-and-D player
On the court, the Lakers can certainly use a player like KCP. As a shooting guard, KCP is able to defend multiple positions with his size, strength, and speed. Finding a player that can do what KCP can on the defensive end is not an easy thing to do.
In addition to being a strong defensive player, KCP is one of the best shooters on the team. Coming into the season, one of the weaknesses for the Lakers for shooting from beyond the arc. Last season with the Lakers, KCP shot 38 percent from three-point range, which is a strong number. This season, KCP is shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc, which still makes him one of the best shooters on the team.
With LeBron on the team, having shooters around him is very important. We have seen players like Kyle Kuzma thrive playing with LeBron, as he is able to space the floor and shoot from deep. As a guard, KCP fits very nicely on paper with James, as he can be an efficient spot-up shooter. Even though his minutes per game is way down, KCP is still a very strong player. Finding a solid 3-and-D player is not an easy thing to do in the NBA, and upgrading KCP would be difficult.