Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players at risk of being disappointing next season

By Jason Reed | Aug 19, 2021

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(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. Kent Bazemore

Kent Bazemore does not have that high of expectations heading into next season, hence why he is third on this list. However, he does still make the list because there still are expectations and quite frankly, I do not think he is going to be very good.

Bazemore absolutely could prove me wrong and make me eat crow on this one but he is easily the role player that I am the least excited about seeing in LA. At this stage of his career, with the other players that the Lakers brought in, Bazemore feels like the player who is naturally going to find himself out of the playoff rotation.

On the surface, his numbers are still promising. He shot 40.8% from three last season and his Defensive Box Plus/Minus was 1.3. Anyone who reads my work at Lake Show Life (first, thank you!) knows that I really value the DBPM stat.

However, I am less sold on Bazemore as a defender when watching the tape from last year. His defense was trending down in his career and shot back up last season. He definitely will not be a bad defender, but the Lakers are limited in how much they can use him defensively.

I am not buying into the three-point shot, either. He is a career 35.6% shooter and had a career year last season, which is not surprising considering the team he was on. Regression for Bazemore feels inevitable.

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