Lakers Trade Pitch Brings Polarizing Champ Who Adds ‘Contender Status’

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Lakers star Anthony Davis (left) and potential trade target Michael Porter Jr.

Of all the issues the Lakers had on the floor last season and during the NBA playoffs, one of the clearest problems might well be the easiest to fix—shooting. The Lakers were not a bad shooting team, they just did not have players who made their living at the 3-point line, and in today’s NBA, it’s tough to win without a few of those.

The Lakers made an average of 11.8 3-pointers per game, 24^th in the NBA. That’s not good enough. Three of the remaining four teams in the playoffs were Top 11 in 3-pointers this year, and Minnesota was 15^th. The Lakers’ 3-point ineptitude showed itself in the playoffs, when they made just 8.8 per game, 15^th out of 16 teams.

As the Lakers go on their much-rumored star search this offseason, they should keep this in mind—and consider a star role player they’ve seen plenty of times in the postseason, Michael Porter Jr. He is not the name that some potential Lakers targets are, but he is a better fit for LeBron James and Anthony Davis than most.

“If they want to get better, that is who they’d go after,” one Eastern Conference GM told Heavy Sports. “They need a gunner who is not afraid to shoot and they’d be much better off if he can be a 3-4 like LeBron, if he is not a size mismatch. A knockdown shooter who creates space, that’s the first step to getting them back to contender status again.”

Michael Porter Jr. Trade Sends Out 3 Players

As for a deal, that could be more complicated. Safe to say that, after being knocked out of the playoffs by a combined game score of 8-1 in the past two years, the Lakers are not eager to help the Nuggets get out of their current financial mess, and would be happy to see Denver have to ship off Porter Jr. to a team in, say, the Eastern Conference.

And the Nuggets might be looking for more financial relief than L.A. could offer. Still, if the Nuggets are hoping to become a deeper team after their Bruce Brown-less bench was exposed against Minnesota in the conference semis, a package of Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Jalen Hood-Schifino could get a trade done.

The Nuggets’ payroll is nearing $200 million, limiting what the team can do in the offseason. Again, the Lakers are happy to let Denver wither under financial pressure. But they’d also like to take advantage where they can.

Lakers Could Use a Career 41% 3-Point Shooter

Porter Jr. is a polarizing player, not so much because of his ability but because of his contract. The Nuggets raised eyebrows across the league, in fact, when they handed Porter a five-year deal at $207 million in the fall of 2021. He made $33 million last season, and will make $36 million next season.

Considering his numbers—16.7 points, 39.7% 3-point shooting, 7.0 rebounds last year, and 41.0% from the 3-point line on his career—Porter Jr.’s value is clear. He’s just getting paid too much for his production.

Porter Jr. took outsize blame for the Nuggets’ struggles against the Timberwolves, especially as he shot 4-for-21 from the 3-point line in the final four games.

But around the NBA, Porter’s value goes beyond what his numbers with the Nuggets are. He would not need to be a ball-dominant star for the Lakers, and if the team pursues the likes of Trae Young or Zach LaVine in a trade in the offseason, that’s what they’d be getting. That would be counterproductive.

The Lakers don’t need a big-time name as much as they need a big-time fit. Porter Jr. is, at least, the type, even if the Lakers-Nuggets recent history makes a potential trade a longshot.