The Los Angeles Lakers have been fairly disappointing to start the 2021-22 season. While the team is dealing with injuries and has played more without LeBron James than with him, the start of the season has still been extremely disappointing.
The Lakers have had a pretty easy start to the schedule with the most impressive win thus far being an overtime win over the Miami Heat at home without Jimmy Butler playing. Besides that, the Lakers have played some cupcakes, some of which have beaten the Lakers.
Both Oklahoma City and Minnesota have beaten the Lakers. Those are not the kind of teams you want to lose to as an NBA Championship contender.
One of the most disappointing things during the season has been Russell Westbrook. Nobody expected it to be a seamless fit on the Lakers but thus far, Westbrook is proving the critics correct. The fit is not great and he is playing poorly.
Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers might wish that they didn’t do the Russell Westbrook trade.
The Lakers had to make some sort of improving move during the offseason after falling short in the NBA Playoffs last season. This is why LA made the Westbrook trade, after all.
However, there were other options that were much better for the purple and gold. These better options aren’t just theoretical options, either. There are players that were traded during the offseason that would have been much better in LA.
There are four such traded players from the offseason that the Lakers should have traded for instead. Let’s dive into them, starting with a two-some that we have covered here on Lake Show Life.
The Los Angeles Lakers could have traded for Buddy Hield or Kyle Lowry
We have already dove in here on Lake Show Life about the possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers trading for both Buddy Hield and Kyle Lowry. Hield does not fit the billing of a player who was traded in the offseason, but there was reportedly almost a deal done.
Kyle Kuzma revealed that he thought he was getting traded to the Sacramento Kings for Buddy Hield, even saying that the trade was “done”.
Hield obviously is not a point guard and while he is probably the worst player on this list, he probably would have been a better fit than Westbrook. Hield can fit in nicely as a third scorer that shoots off-ball and his salary would have given the team much more flexibility. That does not exist with Westbrook’s deal.
Lowry, on the other hand, was traded in a sign-and-trade to the Miami Heat. All the Toronto Raptors received in that deal was Goran Dragic (who will probably get bought out this season) and Precious Achiuwa, who has been bad this season.
The Lakers could have easily topped that offer to Toronto while making the money work. Of course, there is the possibility that Lowry wanted to go to the Heat instead of the Lakers, but would he have really turned down the chance to contend with LeBron and AD? Probably not.
The Los Angeles Lakers could have reunited with Lonzo Ball
Lonzo Ball is having a really solid season for the Chicago Bulls this season and he would have been a much better point guard on the Lakers than Russell Westbrook. It might not have looked great at times in the one season he was with LeBron James but Lonzo has grown as a player and would fit much better now.
Most importantly, Ball has improved his three-point shooting immensely and is legitimately one of the best three-point shooting point guards in the entire NBA. Ball is shooting 42.2% from beyond the arc this season and since being traded from the Lakers he has shot 38% from beyond the arc on 7.2 threes per game.
That shooting would have fit nicely with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and the same floor spacing problem that the team has with Russell Westbrook would not have existed. Ball also helps in the same way that Westbrook does. Ball is not as good of a rebounder as Westbrook but he is probably the second-best rebounding guard in the league.
In fact, Ball ranks 12th in rebounding percentage among guards since being traded by LA (Westbrook ranks first). The only other “true” point guard ahead of Ball is Ben Simmons, who many might not even consider a point guard.
Ball would provide just as good of rebounding (you don’t need an elite rebounder at point guard), better floor spacing and a point guard who can keep the ball moving and isn’t ball-dominant! That is exactly what the team needs with LeBron.
Ball was traded to the Chicago Bulls in a sign-and-trade for nothing. New Orleans got Garrett Temple, Tomas Satoransky and a future second-round pick. That’s a disgusting package for New Orleans that the Lakers easily could have beaten.
The Los Angeles Lakers could have brought DeMar DeRozan home
The Chicago Bulls made the moves in the offseason that the Lakers should have made. In fact, the Lakers could have essentially been a better version of the Bulls if they approached the offseason a certain way. Considering the Bulls are 8-4, the Lakers would probably love to be a better version of the Bulls.
DeRozan was traded from the San Antonio Spurs to Chicago in a sign-and-trade and he was connected to the Lakers as well. DeRozan, an LA native, signed a new three-year deal worth $81.9 million. That might be a bit of an overpay for DeRozan, but it is better than what the Lakers are paying for Westbrook.
DeRozan did not seem like a great fit at the time. He was not someone who I was pounding on the table for during the offseason. He is not a great three-point shooter, instead commanding the mid-range, and is someone who needs the ball lin his hand in some capacity to succeed.
That being said, with how much time LeBron has missed, he would have been a good second playmaker for the team to bring in. While he needs the ball, he definitely does not need it as much as Westbrook.
The team would have needed some floor spacers around DeRozan but that is the same problem they have with Westbrook. And while DeRozan is not a great three-point shooter, he is certainly better than Westbrook.