Pass or pursue proposed trades the Lakers should consider making
By Jason Reed
Trade 3: Los Angeles Lakers trade for Eric Gordon
Eric Gordon is a big-name role player and there is no doubt that the Houston Rockets want to trade him this offseason. Gordon is entering the final year of his contract and is coming off of a decent statistical season for the Rockets.
Houston is not going to compete for anything anyways and is instead more interested in developing the young players on the roster. Thus, it is better to trade Gordon, and the Rockets are reportedly looking for a first-round pick.
It seems more likely than not that the Rockets won’t get a first-round pick but you never know in the NBA. This trade sees the Lakers send two future second-round picks for Gordon and quite frankly, even that is too much for the aging veteran.
We see this all the time with big-name role players but Gordon’s actual production no longer matches the status he has in the league. NBA analysts simply look at his three-point percentage from last season (which was an anomaly) and discredit how good he actually is.
The truth is that Gordon is an undersized guard who is playing on 33-year-old legs who is not as good of a shooter as last season indicates. He is an inefficient offensive player that is limited and his defense is awful.
Gordon’s -2.3 Box Plus/Minus last season was among the worst in the entire league. You would think that the Lakers learned their lesson from bringing in over-the-hill veterans and Gordon is absolutely an over-the-hill veteran.
Verdict: Pass