The Los Angeles Lakers did not make any improvements at the NBA trade deadline but they did already improve in the buyout market. After not being traded at the deadline, Andre Drummond was bought out by the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Drummond is not the best former Cavalier to play on the Lakers.
This was a massive improvement for the Lakers. While Drummond does tend to get a bit overrated by the box score watchers, he directly fills a big need that the Lakers had and helps them match up with certain teams, which is massive if the team is going to defend its NBA Championship.
The Lakers should not be done, though. This is still an incomplete team and there is one more move to make. One more move that puts the Lakers over the edge to win the NBA Championship. We are not alone in this thinking, as the front office wants to make another move as well.
According to Jovan Buha and Jared Weiss of The Athletic (h/t Christian Rivas, Silver Screen and Roll), the Lakers are reportedly interested in making one more roster move via a three and D wing. According to the report, the Lakers are $1.39 million below the hard cap.
The best-case signing for the Los Angeles Lakers is Otto Porter Jr.
First off, it makes excellent sense for the Los Angeles Lakers to pursue a three and D wing. The team has some decent defensive options, but it can get better and it is not as good as some fans may think.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is good defensively opposite other guards as a perimeter defender. He is not the typical three and D wing that some think he is. Alex Caruso is a solid defender and Wesley Matthews is not terrible.
However, offensively, the Lakers are really lacking at the wing position. KCP is extremely inconsistent, Caruso has always been a one-way threat and Matthews has hardly shown up this season. Kyle Kuzma has been the biggest standout but the Lakers need more.
Porter would provide just that for the team. He is not an elite defender by any stretch, but he certainly can hold his own and is more of a defensive wing than KCP is. Porter is not someone who is going to lock down Kawhi Leonard or James Harden, but he will not get exposed, either.
He is a slightly above-average defender who can really be maximized on the right team.
Porter would add a fantastic spark offensively to the Lakers. Porter may only be averaging 9.7 points per game but he is still scoring efficiently, which is what the Lakers need. He is shooting 39% from beyond the arc this season and is a career 40.3% three-point shooter.
Porter’s usage has just gone down. He is only averaging eight field goal attempts per game. He could easily average 12 points and five boards a night on the Los Angeles Lakers.
It would be shocking if Porter did not get bought out at this point. He was traded to the Orlando Magic as part of the Nikola Vucevic trade. It does not make a lot of sense for the Magic, who have committed to the tank, to keep Porter around if they can save some money on his remaining salary.
Otto Porter has become one of those players that became so underrated because his contract was so terrible. He is a valuable player and would be a fantastic addition to the Los Angeles Lakers.