2. Ish Smith
The point guard position is likely going to look a lot different for the Los Angeles Lakers next season. Starting point guard Dennis Schroder is a free agent and is asking for a contract in the $100-120 million range. It is not a hot take to say that Schroder is not nearly worth that much, so the Lakers could let him walk or could even look to pull off a sign-and-trade.
Alex Caruso is also a free agent this offseason while Talen Horton-Tucker is a restricted free agent Regardless of what happens, the Lakers will likely see at least one, if not two, new point guards in LA.
The team needs someone who can be a secondary playmaker for the team while also being a scoring presence, especially if they are losing Schroder. Ish Smith is an experienced guard with 10 years in this league and while he seemingly has what it takes, it would be a disappointing signing for the Lakers.
Smith simply is not that good. He has some playmaking ability and can produce in that role in the smallest of ways but he is not going to have much of an impact over other point guard options.
More importantly, Smith can’t shoot. This is already a team that needs to add shooters this offseason and adding a small point guard that can’t hit threes is less than ideal. Smith is a career 32.2% three-point shooter on very limited attempts throughout his career.
It simply would not be adding anything to the team and I would rather see the Lakers draft a point guard to get playing time over Smith.