Los Angeles Lakers: 4 reasons why LA should sign Kent Bazemore

3. Kent Bazemore has proven that he can be a valuable off-ball scorer

Kent Bazemore’s overall offensive output last season was not the greatest. In fact, his offensive output was so much worse than Danny Green’s that Green was the better overall player in terms of PIPM despite having a worse D-PIPM — and it was not even that close.

That might be enough reason to not pursue Bazemore this offseason. However, it was not as bad as it looked overall and there are promising signs that override a small sample size.

First of all, Bazemore got much better once he was traded to the Sacramento Kings. Bazemore played 43 games for the Portland Trail Blazers and just did not fit their system offensively. He averaged only 7.9 points per game and shot an abysmal 32.7% from beyond the arc.

Things got much better for Bazemore once he suited up with the Kings. His scoring output went up to 10.3 points per game — despite getting fewer minutes — and his three-point percentage shot up to 38.4%.

There is a reason why Bazemore got overpaid four years ago and it is because at his best he is a really valuable three and D wing. He proved during his stint with the Kings that in the right situation he can be a really solid shooter.

Just look at the 2017-18 season. Bazemore shot 39.4% on 4.2 three-point attempts per game. There is no better system to be an off-ball three-point shooter than the Los Angeles Lakers and we have already seen several other players, such as Rajon Rondo in the NBA Playoffs, shoot well-above expectations in LA.

There is no reason to expect Bazemore to be any different. It is not a guarantee that he shoots 39% from three but he can easily replicate the 36.7% that Green shot on 4.8 attempts per game.