The Los Angeles Lakers need to add more three-point shooting. With how the team is currently constructed, Los Angeles is going to fall behind in an area of the game that has become so important to success in modern basketball.
Adding role players that can shoot the basketball is a fundamental part of team building and Rob Pelinka has not done much of that this offseason. Luckily for Pelinka, there are different ways he can add more shooting before the season starts. It is critical that the Lakers take at least two of these paths.
Because when you look at who the best shooters on the roster are, you really start to get concerned about the Lakers next season.
The 3 best 3-point shooters that the Los Angeles Lakers have to offer:
3. Juan Toscano-Anderson
Juan Toscano-Anderson is the 3rd best 3-point shooter that the Los Angeles Lakers have on the roster and that is a bit concerning considering that JTA shot 32.2% from beyond the arc last season. That is not exactly a great percentage for the former Warrior.
That being said, Toscano-Anderson has showcased the ability to shoot the ball at an efficient rate before. He probably has one of the highest ceilings of the role players, at least from a shooting standpoint, as he shot 40.2% from three in the 2020-21 season.
That being said, his career average is still only at 36.1% and he does not take a high volume of threes. He has averaged only 1.5 threes attempted in 17.1 minutes per game. That is not necessarily the signs of a marksman from deep that can make another team pay.
If the Lakers go into the 2022-23 season with JTA being the 3rd-best 3-point shooter then fans should be very concerned.
2. LeBron James
This is a problem. LeBron James should never rank this high on a 3-point shooting list for a team. The best kind of role players to put around LeBron are 3 and D guys who do not need the basketball and can hit shots while LeBron facilitates. The fact that LeBron is second is telling you all that you need to know.
To be fair to LeBron, he has improved as a three-point shooter in recent years. While he is still by no means a great shooter, he has improved his shooting to be at an average level with above-average stretches when he is cooking.
Over the last two seasons with the Lakers, LeBron is shooting 36.2% on 7.3 attempts per game. Last season’s 8 attempts per game were the most of his career. This is a guy that used to only take around 3-4 shots from deep in his prime.
All of this is calculated by LeBron. While he still has the strength and finesse to get to the basket, it is no secret that LeBron is old and the miles are starting to catch up. He still plays at an elite All-NBA level but he has to pick his spots.
Instead of barrelling to the rim as he used to so often do, LeBron is taking more spot-up jumpers to save his body for the postseason. The problem is that the Lakers won’t even get there with LeBron being the team’s 2nd-best 3-point shooter.
1. Kendrick Nunn
The best 3-point shooter on the Los Angeles Lakers is someone who did not play in a single game for the team last season. After playing in the preseason, Kendrick Nunn could never return to the court as he dealt with various injuries that kept him sidelined.
That makes him one of the most interesting role players that the Lakers have this season. Nunn had some stock in the league and took a discount to sign with the Lakers last summer. After this injury-riddled season, opting back into his contract was a no-brainer and he could take a lot of people by storm.
One thing is for certain: he will be getting a lot of looks from beyond the arc as Nunn is the best 3-point shooter that the Lakers currently have on the roster. What makes it worse is that Nunn is not even that great of a shooter. He is fine, but by no means should be the best on the team.
Nunn’s career average in his two seasons played is just above LeBron’s rate from his last two seasons. Nunn checks in with a 36.4% rate in 5.8 attempts per game. However, Nunn is moving in the right direction as the 2020-21 season was a better one from beyond the arc.
In his last season played with the Miami Heat, Nunn shot 38.1% from 3 in 5.7 attempts per game. Those are the kind of numbers that the Lakers are looking for in role players. The only problem is that the Lakers should have 3-4 of those guys, not just 1.
Ranking the 4 most-likely options for the Lakers last roster spot
The Los Angeles Lakers have multiple directions to go for the final roster spot. Here are the four most-likely options ranked.
Plus, it is not like LA even added Nunn this offseason, he was a carry-over from the year before. So when it comes to adding shooters this summer, Juan Toscano-Anderson is the best the Lakers have to show thus far.