What the Los Angeles Lakers need the most moving forward
By Ed Schrenzel
Hassan Whiteside
The 7-footer is another center that might be traded or bought out by his team, Sacramento. His game has certain desirable strengths.
To begin with, he is a career 58% shooter who knows he has limited shooting range and tends to take shots only when he’s open. Additionally, he’s always been a good rebounder and shot-blocker, with career averages of 11.4 and 2.4.
Yet consider this. After a good statistical season last year with Portland, the Blazers made no effort to re-sign him, and no other team stepped up until late in free agency. That’s when the Kings signed him for just $2.3 million after he had earned $27 million last year. And guess which team was among those who pointedly passed on him? That’s right, the Lakers did.
The Kings are not exactly setting the NBA on fire these days. And even though Whiteside has had some minor injuries, he’s still only playing 14.6 minutes per game for 13th place Sacramento. Would a player like that really help the Lakers?
Like Drummond, Whiteside could have some relatively small value, but he doesn’t have the right combination of skills to put the Lakers over the top.