3. Danny Green
You may have noticed a trend with the players mentioned on this list and it directly has to do with what the Lakers are lacking this season. As mentioned already, the team is lacking perimeter defense and the players that can play on the perimeter are extremely inefficient on the offensive end.
What made the 2019-20 team so special is that they had so many interchangeable wings around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Whether it was traditional two guards like Green or KCP, point guards like Caruso, or even forwards (more on the next page), the Lakers always had a decent defensive presence on the team that can hit shots.
Name one player on this team that plays good defense and hits three-point shots. Sure, Malik Monk, Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington can shoot, but can any of them play defense?
To play devil’s advocate to this Green inclusion, he was awful in the Orlando bubble and could not hit a shot to save his life. When the Lakers flipped him and the first-round pick in 2020 for Dennis Schroder it seemed like a steal.
However, in hindsight, the Lakers probably would have been better off keeping Green, potentially re-signing him (he signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the second season being non-guaranteed) AND have the draft pick to build depth.
Instead, the team got one season of Schroder that was not that good before he split.