The offseason is in full swing and with that the Los Angeles Lakers rumors have been prominent as well. One player that is now tied up in the Lakers rumors is Brooklyn Nets guard, Landry Shamet.
The Lakers are reportedly interesting in potentially adding Shamet to the mix this offseason and could even look to trade the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft for Shamet.
While these are nothing but reports at the moment, anything is possible, especially as the Lakers look to improve after being eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. If the front office views Shamet as an improvement then it makes sense to go after him.
The problem is that he is not an improvement. It makes no sense to trade for Landry Shamet, and quite frankly, it would be a disastrous move.
Why the Los Angeles Lakers rumors around Landry Shamet are horrible:
The biggest hang-up with this potential move is the price. While late first-round picks are often overvalued in the NBA, the Lakers are a team that has consistently made the most of their late-round picks. The Lakers are one of the best teams in selecting and developing late draft picks, so this pick has more value to them than other teams.
And just look at what a late pick can accomplish. Last offseason, the Lakers flipped Danny Green and the 28th pick in the draft for Dennis Schroder. While Schroder is not worth his reported asking price this offseason, he is much more valuable than Landry Shamet.
The upside of Shamet is his three-point shooting, which is not even that great. Shamet shot 38.7% from beyond the arc last season in 5.5 attempts per game. Sure, he is someone who can shoot it 38% or better on five attempts per game but there are so many guys in the league that can do that exact same thing.
Shamet is one-dimensional. He is a poor defensive player and really is only a threat as an off-ball three-point shooter. The Lakers can get very similar production out of someone on the free-agent market, such as JJ Redick. Redick can shoot threes and play poor defense just as well as Shamet can and would take a minimum contract.
Redick is not the only alternative. There are plenty of cheap free-agent sharpshooters that the Los Angeles Lakers could sign without having to give up a first-round pick.
If the Brooklyn Nets, another contending team, are willing to move on from a role player for a first-round pick then that should tell you something. The Nets are also in a position to add experienced role players and to trade away that depth for a rookie is a bad sign for the Lakers.
As a cheap free agent, fine, Shamet would fit nicely on the team. As someone who the team has to trade draft capital for? Shamet is an awful addition to the Lakers and would be one of the worst moves of Rob Pelinka’s tenure.
It sounds hyperbolic but it is not. If these Los Angeles Lakers rumors are true, and the Lakers trade the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft for Landry Shamet then Laker fans should be outraged.