The Los Angeles Lakers are in third place in the Western Conference at the NBA All-Star Break and are naturally going to make some improvements at some point this season. We already broke down why the Lakers need to make some sort of addition soon and knowing Rob Pelinka’s management style, it would be shocking if the Lakers didn’t make a move.
The big-name on the market that the Lakers are connected to is Blake Griffin, who has been bought out by the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers are one of several teams that have reported interest in Griffin, with the Brooklyn Nets being considered as the front-runners.
Griffin is not the only veteran power forward that the team is connected to, however. The Lakers are reportedly one of several teams that are interested in a trade for Houston Rockets guard P.J. Tucker.
Tucker being bought out is also a possibility, although we have explored what a P.J. Tucker trade could look like for the Lakers.
This naturally raises the question, though:
Who would be better for the Los Angeles Lakers, Blake Griffin or P.J. Tucker?
To even the playing field, we are going to break down who would be the better buyout signing. I might show my hand here a bit, but I think it is a rather no-brainer that it would be smarter to sign Griffin than it would be to trade for Tucker, as one move includes sending assets, the other does not.
It is really interesting to break down these two as they would offer nearly an identical impact on the Los Angeles Lakers. Let’s break down the case for Tucker, the case for Griffin and then come to a conclusion.