Road to Repeat: Keep an eye on the Lakers as the trade deadline looms

For championship contenders around the league, Christmas has arrived. With the NBA trade deadline just around the corner, teams without a shot at playoff contention are ponying up their veterans via the buyout market or trades in search of draft capital. 

The Brooklyn Nets were recently given a 6-foot-9 gift in the form of six-time All-Star Blake Griffin, while the Milwaukee Bucks found swingman PJ Tucker sitting under the Christmas tree in Houston. 

Now, the Los Angeles Lakers must add weapons to complete their armory as they look towards the NBA Playoffs in May. Here’s a look at some possible candidates for the Lakers to add to their roster. 

Andre Drummond: The Cleveland Cavaliers’ big man hasn’t seen the floor since Feb. 12 when the Cavs front office decided to put all their chips into the youth movement, inserting 22-year old Jarrett Allen into the starting lineup. Now, the Cavaliers, who sit at 12th in the Eastern Conference, are looking to trade the two-time All Star in exchange for draft picks. 

Don’t expect the Lakers to make any big trades with the deadline approaching. The Lakers’ most intriguing asset, 20-year-old Talen Horton Tucker, is likely more valuable to the team than any return the Lakers would get. His small-scale contract of 1.5 million dollars also makes it difficult for General Manager Rob Pelinka to match salaries with a player like Drummond, whose 28 million dollar contract is set to expire after the season’s end. If the Cavaliers find no suitors for Drummond, they’ll likely go the buyout route, making him a free agent. 

While playing for the Detroit Pistons and the Cavaliers, the 6-foot-11 center ate up a majority of possessions, forcing post-ups down low and missing bunnies at the rim. As of March 11, Drummond has posted the third-worst field goal percentage on layups this season at 43.6%. As a center, a majority of his attempts are layups — that does not bode well for a modern NBA offense. 

If the Lakers were to sign Drummond, it would require a complete attitude shift on Drummond’s behalf. There can be no more tunnel-visioning his way to the rim, looking off open teammates, and burping up a contested layup. He’d have to alter his game, focusing on the defensive end and limiting his field goal attempts. Drummond has never played for a legitimate contender before, so we don’t know if he would buy into the team’s system. But if anyone can get through to Andre Drummond, it would be LeBron James. 

Wayne Ellington: A reunion with the Purple and Gold may be in store for the 33-year-old shooting guard. On a Pistons team with the second-worst record in the league, Ellington’s asking price would likely be just a second round pick.

Ellington addresses one of the Lakers’ biggest issues: shooting. On paper, the Lakers seems to have the firepower necessary from beyond the arc to succeed. However, after shooting a scorching 62.7% from three in December and January, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has regressed back to 34.4% in February and March. 

Wesley Matthews can’t seem to throw a rock into the ocean, shooting 33% on a career low 3.1 attempts from behind the line. As a team, the Lakers rank 21st in 3-point percentage on the season, a number that may come back to haunt them deep in the postseason. 

Ellington can kill an opposing defense when left open, shooting 42.2% from three, better than any player on the Lakers’ current roster. What the Lakers do excel at, however, is defense. Despite losing Anthony Davis the Lakers still boast the best defensive rating in the league by a wide margin. 

Ellington isn’t a terrible defender, but he isn’t an ace either. It’s on Rob Pelinka to decide if he is willing to bet the current Lakers can flip the switch from beyond the arc in the playoffs, or if a lights-out shooter is worth risking the team’s stellar defense. 

The Lakers may very well sprint to the trade deadline without making any moves. With Davis possibly healthy soon, this team is good enough to raise another championship banner in Staples Center. However, the Lakers aren’t perfect; three point shooting, rim protection, and vertical spacing are all issues that need to be addressed. All eyes are on Rob Pelinka as the March 25 deadline steadily approaches.

Sahil Kurup is a freshman writing about the Los Angeles Lakers. His column, “Road to Repeat,” runs every other Friday.