Los Angeles Lakers: 4 reasons to sign Brook Lopez

4. He can score and hit 3s

Brook Lopez may not be the second coming of Hakeem Olajuwon, but he’s a pretty good scoring option. In 11 NBA seasons he’s averaged 17.3 points a game on nearly 50 percent shooting from the field.

He is a decent post-up option, which is valuable even in today’s pace-and-space NBA. He is also adept at finishing at or near the rim, as he shot an above average 64.5 percent from that distance during the 2017-18 season with the Lakers.

He can even drive to the hoop and finish, as he made 60.2 percent of his shots on drives in 2017-18, which led all centers.

But the area of his offensive game that creates the most intrigue is his 3-point shot. Over his first eight seasons he attempted no more than 14 treys a season and made no more than 14.3 percent of them (both highs came in his eighth season). But the last three years, he has expanded his game and taken a healthy number of threes.

This season, he attempted a career-high 512 triples and made 187 of them for a solid 36.5 percent rate from downtown.

He is also particularly reliable from the corners. Last season with the Lakers, making 43.5 percent of his attempts from the left corner and an even 50 percent from the right corner.

Signing him and having him on the floor could allow the team to run five-out offensive sets where everyone on the floor (at least in theory) is a 3-point threat. This would make things easier on LeBron James and give him more room to do his thing in the paint.