Los Angeles Lakers: 3 dire needs to address in 2019 NBA free agency

1. 3-point shooting

One of the reasons why the Lakers struggled last season was due to a lack of floor-spacers. For instance, Los Angeles was 21st in the league in made 3-point field goals with 10.3 per outing.

Secondly, their 33.3 percent conversion rate from beyond the arc was the second-worst mark in the league ahead of only the Phoenix Suns, who shot 32.9 percent from 3-point range. In other words, the Lakers need of a couple of players who can fill it up from long range.

At the top of the list is Danny Green. Along with finishing the 2018-19 campaign with the third-highest scoring output of his career, Green knocked down 45.5 percent of his looks from downtown.

In addition to his outside shooting touch, Green is also a capable defender as well.

Another guy who can knock it down from the outside is Indiana Pacers forward Bojan Bogdanovic. After Victor Oladipo went down with a season-ending injury, the Pacers managed to stay afloat, thanks in part to Bogdanovic.

He was the team’s second-leading scorer during the regular season and their top scorer during the playoffs. Bogey also posted career highs in shooting (49.7 percent) and 3-point shooting (42.5 percent).

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention J.J. Redick. In 2018-19, Redick shot 39.7 percent from downtown. On top of that, he’s shot north of 40 percent from long range in four of the past five seasons, and is a career 41.3 percent shooter from the land of 3.

Should the Lakers fail to land any of these players, other options include Seth Curry, Jamal Crawford or Wayne Ellington. And if they need a center who can pull opposing bigs away from the basket, Brook Lopez may be an option if the Milwaukee Bucks aren’t able to retain his services.

If the Lakers manage to address some of these needs in free agency, they will more than likely be in the hunt for the Western Conference crown next season.