Best available unrestricted guards
4. Rajon Rondo
According to Rondo’s 2018-2019 traditional stats, he was a very good backup point guard for the Lakers last season.
Rajon Rondo’s 2018-2019 statistics:
9 PPG, 8 APG, 5 RPG, 36 3P% on three attempts per game
Rajon Rondo is the type of player who advanced stats were made for because his box score doesn’t paint the full picture of what type of impact he had on the court.
He had the worst net rating (-10.5) on the Lakers to go along with a 0.1 rating in Basketball-Reference’s value over replacement player, and only 1.5 win shares on the season.
Rajon Rondo was one of the worst defenders in the league last year and although he had a decent 3-point shooting percentage, often times it felt like he was scared to shoot from deep.
There’s a chance he’ll be back with the Lakers next season, but he’s not a great option
3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
KCP hasn’t been signed yet because his value around the league has plummeted. Two years ago Kentavious was seen as one of the best 3-and-D wings in the NBA, but last season on the Lakers his 3-point stroke was off and he was awful on defense.
KCP has the prototypical size and length to be one of the best stoppers in the association, but last season he gave no effort on the less glamorous side of the ball so that he could save energy to pad his stats on offense.
Here are some of his defensive stats from 2018-2019:
- +4.5 Defensive net rating (the Lakers were 4.5 points worst on defense last season with KCP on the court)
- -2.17 in ESPN’s defensive real plus-minus (72nd out of 84 shooting guards)
His plan didn’t work, though, because Caldwell-Pope only averaged 11 points per game while shooting 35% from deep last season.
KCP, like Rondo, is not a good option for the Lakers.
2. T.J. McConnell
McConnell’s statistics last season weren’t great. He averaged 6 PPG, 3 APG, 2 RPG, and a 33 3P% in 19 minutes per game as the 76ers backup point guard last season.
He also weighs in at 190 lbs., making him one of the smallest players in the league.
McConnell isn’t great on offense and he’s undersized and slow on defense, but he tries hard and he does the little things necessary to help his team win.
He’d be a nice addition to the Lakers as a backup point guard on a minimum salary.
1: Danny Green
Outside of Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green is the best free agent still on the market.
He was first out of all shooting guards last season in ESPN’s real plus-minus and he was second last year in 3-point shooting percentage.
The Lakers would love to sign Danny Green to a long-term deal.