Los Angeles Lakers: 2020 free agents to aid the guards in minutes
By Joel Lorenzi
The Los Angeles Lakers could look towards future free agents to help Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope next season.
The Lake Show hasn’t exactly been a sight to see during bubble play in Orlando. During their initial eight-game stretch of play, they finished the regular season with a 3-5 record in the bubble.
These games were full of highs and lows that had fans questioning whether the Lakers could truly contend this year in the Western Conference.
The highs were muscling a win from the Clippers on opening night against a Clippers team that had a couple vital role players absent. The lows were just outright low.
The Los Angeles Lakers saw some of their worst shooting nights all season during their first couple weeks in Orlando. Despite a noticeable change in demeanor midway through their stint after clinching the first seed in the Western Conference, there was still an underlying theme among these games: bad shooting.
Much of that had to do with the Lakers’ two starting wings, Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Through the six regular-season games he played in the bubble, KCP went 5-18 from deep. Danny Green went 7-28 from deep through the seven games that he played.
The Lakers struggled to regain their offensive identity during that eight-game stretch. They were in a confusing stance entering the playoffs, all while being matched up against Bubble MVP Damian Lillard and his red hot Trail Blazers.
The bad shooting trickled into the playoffs, with KCP going 0-9 from the field while playing 29 minutes in Game 1. Danny Green went 2-8 from beyond the arc that same game. While KCP ended up carrying his weight the following three games, it took Green another poor game before he decided to turn it up a notch. Both guys are still shooting below 39% from the field in the series.
The bottom line is the Lakers have struggled shooting while in Orlando, and have determined two things: their two starting wings are fairly inconsistent shooting the ball, and their bench production (or lack thereof) is hardly enough to combat the stretches when Green and KCP shoot poorly.
While they’ve managed to pick some of the pieces up and beat the Blazers three games straight, they’ve proven to be a shell of the dominant team they proved they could be all year while in Orlando. Though they’ve been able to manage to get by (mostly) through their starting guards’ poor performances, they will soon face bigger challenges than the Blazers.
Will their current rate of play be enough to get by threats like the Rockets? The Clippers? Only time will tell. But strangely one thing is nearly certain: the future. Next NBA season could begin in a bubble as well.
The entire bubble dynamic and change of atmosphere may be a leading cause in the Lakers shooting struggles as of late, on top of missing a few pieces. Therefore, why not adapt to the times? Prepare for the worst — another year of bubble play.
Prepare to better your team with players that can perhaps relieve guys like Danny Green and KCP of some minutes. Perhaps even move KCP out of the starting lineup.
While Danny Green will still be enjoying his absurd contract through next year, KCP’s is up this upcoming offseason. There also is always the option of moving Danny Green. Nevertheless, change is bound to come in the Lakers rotation come the offseason.
Whether it’s replacing one of those guys in the starting lineup, or even adding some bench assistance, here are a few guys that the Lakers can focus on in the offseason that can relieve Danny Green and KCP of some of their minutes.