Getty Images Kyrie Irving high-fives Landry Shamet of the Brooklyn Nets.
The Los Angeles Lakers need to improve their shooting next season and Brooklyn Nets guard Landry Shamet could be a player they target as a solution.
The Lakers have inquired about Shamet’s availability and could make a move for the 24-year-old sharpshooter before the draft, per Ian Begley of SNY.
The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams interested in trading for Brooklyn’s Landry Shamet ahead of Thursday’s draft, per SNY sources. Several teams have communicated with the Nets about possible trades for Shamet. Most of those scenarios involve the Nets receiving the team’s first-round pick.
Shamet was a key piece off the bench for the Nets last season. He overcame a slow start to the season, averaging 9.3 points per game and shooting nearly 39% from beyond the arc. He’s a 40% shooter from 3-point land for his career.
With the No. 22 pick and some salary filler serving as the value in the trade, Shamet would be a key addition for the Lakers on the cheap, which is valuable for a team on a budget trying to lure a third star. Shamet will make just $3.7 million next season and will be a restricted free agent the following year.
Lakers Have Also Been Linked to Buddy Hield
Getty ImagesDe’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings.
Shamet is not the only guard the Lakers have been linked to recently, with Buddy Hield also popping up as a possible target in rumors. Hield, like Shamet, would be a key addition to help LA improve its shooting from deep.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Lakers have been in trade talks with the Kings about Hield, with the trade package centering around forward Kyle Kuzma.
The Lakers could not find any consistency shooting the ball last season, specifically in the playoffs. As a team, the Lakers shot 34.9% from three last season, which ranked in the bottom third of the NBA. Hield has never seen a shot he didn’t like and could help the Lakers solve that problem. He averaged 16.6 points per game last season with the Kings, shooting just over 39% from beyond the arc. He also 4.7 rebounds and handed out 3.6 assists per game.
Veterans Could be Lining Up to Play for Lakers
Despite the level of uncertainty surrounding the roster, the Lakers are among the top contenders next season thanks to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who are locked in to serve as the core of the roster.
If the Lakers were to in fact land another key piece like Kyle Lowry or Russell Westbrook, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report expects more veterans to take a pay cut to wear purple and gold.
“The good news for the Lakers is that there is absolutely a large amount of talk from team executives around the league right now that if the Lakers are able to get a Kyle Lowry or make this home run of getting Russell Westbrook and trading Kyle Kuzma for Buddy Hield, let’s say,” Fischer said via the Lakers Central Podcast. “There’s a lot of speculation right now that seems founded that the Lakers have a ton of veteran-type players ready and interested to come sign on minimum deals and go chase this ring with LeBron.”
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