Life has gotten pretty good for the Los Angeles Lakers since the trade deadline. JJ Redick has his squad surging and the addition of Luke Kennard has already proven to be a masterstroke by Rob Pelinka. Things could always be better, though, and the Lakers quietly missed a big shot at that.
The Lakers are 12-6 since the trade deadline. More importantly, they are hitting their stride now, winning eight of their last nine games. Kennard has helped, and not to be greedy, but imagine how much better life in Los Angeles could be with the added presence of someone like Ochai Agbaji.
The Toronto Raptors traded away Agbaji to the Brooklyn Nets in an effort to duck the luxury tax. They paid to get off his (miniscule) $6.4 million deal. It should not have taken much for the Lakers to throw themselves into the mix and reroute him to Los Angeles.
Having a two-way player like Agbaji in the rotation for the Lakers would have only made the team stronger. During his initial run with the Nets, the former Raptor is already showing a change of scenery was the solution to making him the perfect type of player for Los Angeles.
Ochai Agbaji would have been an ideal wing upgrade for the Lakers
Dating back to the offseason, the Lakers were rumored to be in the market for a two-way wing who could improve the team's ceiling on both ends. Perhaps the slow start deterred Los Angeles from believing a fringe move for Agbaji could be the answer in that department.
In all fairness to them, the offensive end looked rough for the former Raptors wing in the first half of this season. Agbaji shot a woeful 18.5 percent from beyond the arc in Toronto. That proved to be more to do with the team than the player.
Upon moving to Brooklyn, his shooting has more than stabilized. Agbaji is pocketing 44.8 percent from deep with the Nets. That comes on only 2.6 attempts per game, but that is actually an improvement over the 1.5 tries a night with the Raptors.
The minutes are comparable too. Agbaji played 15.5 per game in Toronto. That number is at 15.1 in Brooklyn. The jump in production can be largely attributed to the better-suited environment for him.
Overall, his field goal percentage has climbed up to what would be a career high over the span of a full season too. Agbaji is shooting 52.8 percent from the field with the Nets.
The Lakers could have afforded to kick the tires on whether this could have happened in purple and gold. Agbaji was cheap, there for the taking, and fit the mold of what they needed. They are still trucking along fine without him, but perhaps the ceiling of this team would feel far less capped with another reliable wing contributor beside the three stars.