Los Angeles Lakers: Pros and cons of rumored Jeremy Lamb trade interest
By Dalton Sell
The Los Angeles Lakers have arguably been the biggest winners of the 2021 NBA offseason to this point after a handful of moves.
They traded for former league MVP Russell Westbrook and added several complementary pieces in free agency like Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and Trevor Ariza. While they appear ready to leap back into title contention next season as currently constructed, the rich are still looking to get richer after recent rumors surfaced regarding their interest in a potential target.
Initially reported by The Indianapolis Star’s J. Michael (subscription), the Lakers are among four teams that have expressed interest in trading for Jeremy Lamb from the Indiana Pacers.
LA’s potential interest in Lamb is certainly interesting, considering all of the factors that play into a potential deal for him if the Lakers do indeed have an interest. With that being said, here are the pros and cons of Los Angeles trading for Lamb.
The pros of the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Jeremy Lamb
There are several reasons why Lamb would be a fitting trade target for the Lakers heading into the 2021-22 season.
First, he would fit in with LA’s newly formed leading trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. If those three will work, they will need to be surrounded by a requisite amount of outside shooting. While the team has done a great job by bringing in players like Anthony and Ariza, Lamb is coming off a fantastic shooting year himself and could potentially fit the billing also.
Although his season ended prematurely for reasons that will be discussed shortly, Lamb had a career year shooting the basketball in 2020-21. Throughout 36 games, Lamb shot a career-high 40.6 percent from behind the arc on 3.6 attempts per game. Taking a closer look, the guard did most of his damage from deep on catch-and-shoot opportunities. According to NBA.com/stats, Lamb shot 35-of-84 (41.7 percent) on catch-and-shoot triples last season, in contrast to just 17-of-43 (39.5 percent) on pull-up attempts. The Lakers would embrace another player with a quick trigger that could thrive off the pristine playmaking of James and Westbrook.
In addition to shooting, Lamb has proven to be a solid scoring threat in general by averaging double figures in each of the last four seasons. Whether he is in the starting five or coming off the bench, the guard brings instant offense into the fold whenever he takes the floor. Perhaps Lamb could be a fitting player to take LA’s starting shooting guard spot after there has been much debate between fans this season as to which player should get the nod. That might be looking too far ahead at this point, but due to his scoring abilities, Lamb could be a good fit for the Lakers.