Los Angeles Lakers have two players named in Sports Illustrated’s top 100
The Los Angeles Lakers had two players, Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green, make the first half of Sports Illustrated’s top 100 list.
The Los Angeles Lakers roster has been revamped this offseason. Almost the whole young core, outside of Kyle Kuzma, is elsewhere whether it be because of a trade or the Lakers allowing them to leave in free agency.
By missing out on Kawhi Leonard in free agency, the team was able to fill out the roster with some much-needed depth. One of the biggest signings in free agency for the team was Danny Green, who helped the Toronto Raptors win the NBA Championship in June.
Those are two of the players Los Angeles will be relying on heavily throughout the season to help get the organization back to the level they are used to being on the court. The Lakers are currently in a six-year playoff drought, the longest in franchise history.
Kuzma and Green are just two of the players that will be tasked with helping LeBron James and Anthony Davis push the team to the next level. Those two were also recognized in Sports Illustrated’s top 100 players in the NBA list.
Sports Illustrated recently revealed the first half of their rankings, releasing No. 100-51. Kuzma comes in at No. 96 on the list. If things go according to plan, he will keep moving up the ranks in the coming years.
Part of the reason for Kuzma being where he is on the list is that he is still finding his way in the NBA. He needs to show that he can be a consistent 3-point shooter and improve defensively. If he is able to do that, the Lakers will be able to deploy some interesting lineups with him, James and Davis in the frontcourt together.
Green, on the other hand, is most well known for his 3-point shooting and defense. He comes in at No. 89 on Sports Illustrated’s list backed by an impressive resume as he is a premier 3-and-D wing in the NBA and does it on the biggest stages.
Green has 48 career 3-pointers in the NBA Finals, knocking them down at an impressive 47.1 percent clip. You know what you are going to get when Green is on the court, but his style of play could result in some frustrating stretches at times.
As noted in the blurb about him on Sports Illustrated, 3-point shots are what you’re getting from Green offensively. 61.8 percent of the shots in his career have come from the 3-point line, with 69 percent of them last season with the Raptors coming from there.
That causes for some slumps, such as the one he went through during the Eastern Conference Finals. But, even when his shot isn’t falling, he can still have a big impact on the game thanks to his production defensively.
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One of the players that were traded this offseason that made room for Danny Green to sign, Brandon Ingram, came in at No. 85 on this list. Another former young core member, Julius Randle, signed a lucrative deal with the New York Knicks this offseason and came in at No. 79 on the list.