The Los Angeles Lakers need help if they are going to make any sort of run at the playoffs this season. The options for Los Angeles are limited, with Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn being the team’s only two trade assets.
That being said, the buyout market is around the corner and before that, the Lakers can take advantage of 10-day contracts. NBA teams can officially sign players to 10-day contracts starting January 5 and with an open roster spot, the Lakers have the means to do so.
One of the biggest holes on the roster is three-point shooting. And while the players currently available are not amazing options, there are some candidates to take a flier on to see if they can provide a jolt to the team’s three-point shooting.
Here are 3 sharpshooters the Los Angeles Lakers could sign to a 10-day contract.
1. Jeremy Lamb
Jeremy Lamb is someone who has been tied to the Los Angeles Lakers in the past. He was connected to the Lakers via trade rumors when he was a member of the Indiana Pacers last season and it seemed like the Lakers may sign him this past summer when he became a free agent.
Los Angeles did not do that and neither did any other team in the league. Lamb has been waiting for the call and with the 10-day contract window soon opening, he should find himself back in the league in some capacity.
Because of the previous interest, this seems like the most logical 10-day contract signing for LA. While Lamb had a down year shooting the basketball last season, he shot 40.6% from beyond the arc in 3.6 attempts per game the year prior.
With virtually no shooting on the roster, it makes plenty of sense to take a chance on Lamb’s shooting ceiling with a 10-day contract.
2. Ben McLemore
Another player that is available to be signed to a 10-day contract with ties to the Los Angeles Lakers is Ben McLemore. McLemore already spent time in Los Angeles, suiting up in 21 games after the Lakers acquired him during the 2020-21 season.
McLemore had a pretty decent-sized role in the rotation during his tenure in Los Angeles as well. He averaged 17.5 minutes per game and logged nine minutes per game in the four games he played in the playoffs.
Not only is McLemore a former member of the Lakers but he is also heavily connected to LeBron James. McLemore is a Klutch Sports client and as we saw last summer, Rob Pelinka is not shy about signing players from Klutch.
The best version of McLemore is a three-and-D two-guard that can defend the perimeter and knock down open shots. While the Lakers already have a lot of undersized guards, they still need shooting and McLemore’s connection to the team might be enough to give him a chance.
His shooting has not been great in recent years but like Lamb, there is a high ceiling there that the Lakers could try and tap into. In a 90-game stretch between 2019 and 2020, McLemore shot 40.2% from three in 5.5 attempts per game.
If he could find that stroke again from beyond the arc then he would suddenly be the best shooter on the entire Lakers roster.
3. Rodney Hood
The options are kind of limited so Rodney Hood becomes the third-best three-point shooter that the Lakers could sign to a 10-day contract. That necessarily is not a great place to be in but this is the bed that Rob Pelinka has made. The team has to lay in it.
Rodney Hood has bounced around from team to team in his NBA career as his ceiling as a three and D wing is tantalizing for contending teams to take a chance on. There have been stretches in which Hood has played really well and other stretches when his shot suddenly disappeared.
Hood was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2017-18 and in LeBron’s last season with the team Hood was okay. He did not provide the jolt the team was looking for but he was good enough from three to get playing time.
There have been seasons in which Hood has shot 38% or higher from three. However, there have also been seasons in which he has shot 33% or worse. He is consistently a serviceable defender during that time, not standing out as an elite defensive piece but he can certainly hold his own.
Overall, Hood is a career 36.6% three-point shooter. That would give him the second-highest career three-point percentage on the roster.
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Hood is also only 30 years old, so it is not like his atheticism has wained in his late 30s. It may not pan out, but it is worth seeing if he will get hot on a 10-day deal.