Los Angeles Lakers: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
Signed Troy Daniels
If Danny Green is a sharpshooter with strong defensive chops, Troy Daniels is the one-way version of Green that is useful to collect on a roster. For the cost of a veteran’s minimum, the Lakers were able to add a knockdown shooter at the 2, the sort of player who excels around LeBron James.
Daniels, a 6’4” guard out of VCU, is a career 40 percent shooter who has stuck around the league on the back of that one elite skill. Nearly three-quarters — 74 percent — of his shots over the past three seasons have come from beyond the arc, which ranks in the top 5 percent leaguewide.
Largely due to his role, he rarely turns the ball over.
He also rarely assists other teammates, averaging an assist every-other-game or so. He is a defensive sieve, lacking the size to guard larger 2s and the lateral agility and reaction speed to stay in front of faster guards.
To activate his superpower shooting is to put an open lane on the court for opposing guards.
For the minimum, Daniels is the kind of player to add as a deep bench option on a good team.
Unfortunately for the Lakers their lack of depth means Daniels will likely have a regular role in the rotation and his defensive issues are compounded by the other poor defenders he will share the rotation with, including Quinn Cook and Rajon Rondo.
It was a low-cost, low-upside move; fine for what it is but not moving the needle.