New free agent could be key to fixing Lakers’ wing problems
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers have an unbalanced roster heading into the 2022-23 season that is going to struggle to succeed. Los Angeles has a roster that is extremely guard-heavy despite having a $47.1 million guard who wants to play big minutes and have a high usage rate.
As a result, the team has sacrificed depth in other important areas. Los Angeles’ wing depth is pretty abysmal with the team having ideas of playing non-wing players as wings, which obviously is not going to work.
However, the team does still have an open roster spot to utilize and there are other NBA moves happening that are creating potential targets for the Lakers. The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a cap-focused eight-player trade, opening the door for some players to be bought out and become targets.
One of those players has already been bought out by the Rockets — Maurice Harkless. Harkless was set to make $4.5 million this season.
#Rockets Moe Harkless is expected to receive a buyout, per source.
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) September 30, 2022
Maurice Harkless would add a much-needed dynamic to the Lakers.
Maurice Harkless is far from being a great player in the NBA and he is not someone that fans will particularly get overly excited for. However, with what this team needs right now, he would still be an impactful signing.
Harkless does not offer much offensively but that is not what Los Angeles needs at this point in time. They already have two All-NBA big men as well as a litany of guards who are all going to want to get their offense in. Harkless actually fits in nicely in this regard.
It does hurt that Harkless cannot shoot threes very well, which will continue to hurt the floor spacing. He has never been a high-volume three-point shooter and his percentages are not great. That being said, he has had some years where he has shot well and it isn’t absurd to think that he can shoot 38% on two attempts per game in LA with the drive and kick style.
Most importantly, Harkless could add a promising defensive presence. While he is not elite, Harkless is an above-average defensive wing. Not only do the Lakers get a positive defender, but they get a positive defender in an area where they currently do not have any positive defenders.
This could make a big difference in the grand scheme of things. Something as small as him being a defensive addition in the last minute of a close playoff game would make this worth it for LA.