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Former Lakers trade target exploding on opening night is painful to see

By Jason Reed

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Darvin Ham (L) and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers talk before a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at T-Mobile Arena on October 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Timberwolves defeated the Lakers 114-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Darvin Ham (L) and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers talk before a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at T-Mobile Arena on October 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Timberwolves defeated the Lakers 114-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers did not start the 2022-23 season as they had hoped. After a sluggish 1-5 preseason, the Lakers continued their poor play on opening night, falling rather easily to the Golden State Warriors.

It quickly became clear that this team needs serious help but it is unclear how long it will take for any help to come. Perhaps the front office should have been more aggressive in the offseason to build a team that could actually get out of the play-in, let alone contend.

Making matters worse is that a rumored trade target for the Lakers from this past summer came out and had an unexpected gem in his first game. It was not one of the potential players that LA could have got in return for Russell Westbrook, either. It was New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1582916530840342529

Reddish finished with 22 points on 60% shooting with five rebounds and three steals. He also made 50% of his threes in the game, which is something that would be welcomed on this Los Angeles team.

The Los Angeles Lakers could have potentially added Cam Reddish this offseason.

There was speculative interest in Reddish from the Lakers’ camp which was magnified by Reddish himself reportedly wanting to be traded; although he later refuted that report. Regardless, Reddish definitely was available for the right price and that price was not that high.

Is he going to keep this level of play up all season? Probably not. It would be incredibly surprising if he was suddenly scoring 20 points per game. However, flashes like this show his potential and on a bad LA team, he would have had more of a runway to be close to that 20-point-per-game scorer.

Los Angeles is desperately lacking wings with size and are desperately lacking players who can shoot the basketball. Reddish fits that billing, is a cheap option, and definitely could have been had for Rob Pelinka and the front office this season.

Unfortunately, there are so many players in the league that are former Lakers, almost Lakers, or rumored-to-be Lakers that did not quite pan out that will ball out on a nightly basis. Meanwhile, those actually wearing the purple and gold will continue to disappoint, making every fan wonder about what could have been.

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