Getty Stephen Curry and LeBron James
The Los Angeles Lakers reached an agreement with free-agent forward Juan Toscano-Anderson on June 30 and the swingman’s former superstar teammate had some things to say about the move.
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, who won the 2022 championship over the Boston Celtics with Toscano-Anderson, took to Twitter after the Lakers stole his guy.
Always a champ and always doing it for Oakland…good luck my guy Juan T
Toscano-Anderson spent the past three seasons with the Warriors. He has career averages of 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 139 regular-season games while shooting 52.3% from the field, 36.1% from beyond the arc and 61.3% from the free-throw line.
Toscano-Anderson, 29, went undrafted out of Marquette and played in the Mexican League from 2015 through 2018 before joining the G-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors following a local tryout. He is represented by Erika Ruiz of Klutch Sports, the same agency Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are with.
Toscano-Anderson Excited to Join Lakers
Toscano-Anderson is “extremely excited” to play for the Lakers. He posted the below message on Twitter on July 1.
But with all that said, I’m extremely excited to be a Laker. New opportunities, new chapter of my life. The story is still being written!
Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells believes Toscano-Anderson will be a good fit with the Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season. Along with Toscano-Anderson, Los Angeles agreed to deals with Troy Brown Jr., Lonnie Walker IV and Damian Jones in unrestricted free agency.
“Toscano-Anderson has the versatility to play shooting guard and small forward,” Wells wrote on June 30. “He provided a burst of energy for the Warriors, particularly during the 2020-21 campaign. His shooting could get better with LeBron James commanding so much attention from opposing defenses. Lakers fans are accustomed to getting the marquee names, but one reason things fell apart for them last season was the lack of depth because of a series of injuries. Toscano-Anderson is exactly the type of competent glue guy this roster needs.”
Lakers Could Make More Moves
The Lakers’ current roster is made up of James, Davis, Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, Wenyen Gabriel, Max Christie, Brown Jr., Toscano-Anderson, Jones and Walker IV. According to a June 30 report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Los Angeles’ next priority as the offseason unfolds is to address its outside shooting.
Last season, the Lakers ranked 22nd in the NBA in 3-point shooting, hitting just 34.7% of their team attempts. Westbrook’s effective field goal percentage of 47.6% was sixth-worst in the league and the one-time MVP shot only 29.8% from beyond the arc.
According to a June 30 tweet from John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix, the Lakers could trade Westbrook and draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for star point guard Kyrie Irving and shooting guard Joe Harris. Irving, 30, is focused on getting to the Lakers after two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Nets, per a June 30 report from Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
James and Irving were teammates for three seasons on the Cleveland Cavaliers. They played in three consecutive Finals and won the 2016 title over Curry and the Warriors in seven games.
Irving requested a trade from the Cavaliers in the summer of 2017 because he no longer wanted to play with James. However, The Athletic’s Shams Charania told Pat McAfee on the June 20 episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” that the two All-Stars still have a good relationship.