2. Elfrid Payton
Again, this is the case of the Los Angeles Lakers potentially needing to fill a need at the point guard position and using the draft pick for an established talent rather than using the draft pick on a rookie that may or may not make an impact.
The team already has a project guard in Talen Horton-Tucker, do they really need another?
Elfrid Payton would be a good addition to the team as he is someone who, again, could come off the bench and be the primary ballhandler and facilitator when LeBron James is off the court. Payton would mesh nicely with Anthony Davis on the court and is not a terrible off-ball option when LeBron is there for defensive purposes.
Payton is not an elite defender but he is a good one. Payton is decently long and had better offensive and defensive metrics, such as box plus-minus, than Rajon Rondo did last season.
There is one massive flaw in Payton’s game, though, and that is his lack of three-point shooting. The Lakers are not a three-point shooting team anyways but even Rondo was able to hit some big threes when the Lakers needed him to.
The team would have to bring in another sharpshooting guard to counteract Payton’s lack of three-point shooting and if they can do that then Payton would be a decent get. He will give the Lakers 10 points and seven assists per game and the team could probably even get a second-round pick in return from the Knicks.
The Knicks do have the Charlotte Hornets’ second-round pick this year.