Lakers Trade Pitch Nets Warriors’ Specialist to Fill Old Alex Caruso Role

Getty Alex Caruso and LeBron James high five during Game Five of the 2020 Western Conference Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers‘ top need this offseason might be accurate shooting from deep, though it was defense that won the team the NBA title in 2020 — the only ring LeBron James and Anthony Davis have captured as a five-year duo.

With that in mind, along with the potential need for the Golden State Warriors to dump some fringe salary to beef up the top of their roster this summer, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports authored a trade pitch over the weekend that would see L.A. land Gary Payton II from the Dubs.

“The Warriors may need to shed some salary to accommodate a splashy star addition (or to potentially re-sign [Klay] Thompson without breaking the bank),” Quinn wrote on Saturday, June 29. “The Lakers have been dying for an Alex Caruso replacement ever since he left. Payton is the league’s closest analog as a lockdown perimeter defender, barely passable shooter and excellent off-ball offensive player in space.”

Gary Payton II Can Offer Lakers Above-Average Perimeter Defense, Moderate 3-Point Shooting

GettyGary Payton II of the Golden State Warriors.

Payton’s defensive rating over the course of his career is 108.1, exactly 8 points better than the league average of 116.1 last season. His number was not as good last year, coming in at 113.0, though it was still low enough to render him well above-average as a perimeter defender.

Injuries have plagued the now 31-year-old guard over the past two campaigns, during which he has appeared in just 22 and 44 regular-season games, respectively. But, when healthy in 2021-22, Payton was a meaningful cog in the Warriors’ run to a championship.

He suffered an injury during that postseason, though he returned to contribute meaningfully during the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, which the Dubs captured in six games.

Payton shot 35.8% from behind the 3-point line during the Warriors’ title season, connected on 50% of his 3-point tries the following year in a very limited sample size and hit 36.4% of his attempts from behind the arc last season, per Basketball Reference.

Max Christie Could Function as Trade Chip for Gary Payton II if Lakers Value Winning Now Over Future

GettyMax Christie of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Depending on where the Warriors are with their cap construction after releasing Chris Paul Sunday, as well as potentially losing Thompson to one of several interested contenders, Golden State may not need to make the money match exactly in a deal for Payton, which opens up some interesting possibilities.

However, if Paul and Thompson both leave, the Warriors will face a crossroads at which the franchise must decide if (and how) it can actually compete with the top of the Western Conference. Stephen Curry is still a top 10 player and Draymond Green is still probably in the ballpark of a top 10 defender, but that’s simply not enough to win in a stacked West. It may not even be enough to make the playoffs without big leaps from several youngsters on the roster.

If the Dubs are playing to win now, Payton is someone they probably ought to keep on his $9.1 million salary. But if the Warriors are interested in hitting the reset button, Max Christie of the Lakers represents a move toward youthful potential.

L.A. just signed Christie to a to a four-year deal worth $32 million, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Christie will turn 22 years old during the middle of next season, just his third in the league.

He averaged 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists last season in just 14.1 minutes per game, though he showed flashes of potential far exceeding those figures. Christie has also connected on 37.8% of his 3-point tries on nearly 2 attempts per game over his first two NBA seasons.

The Lakers are in win-now mode, which makes Christie a superfluous luxury and Payton a meaningful piece. If the Warriors transition to future mode, the deal could make sense.