Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[DanSchwartzgan]

Nico said he would like "someone who plays with physicality, rebounding is always a plus". I don't think this necessarily means a center or even a PF. 

I agree it all depends on where we think this team is. Personally, I don't think we are a center away from being a contender. I think a two way wing is a bigger need. Two way in a sense that he is a great defender

First, it feels unfair to state as fact that we aren't a 'center away from being a contender' and then go on to state a two way wing is the bigger need.  Based on what?  Are we a 'two way wing' away from being a contender?  Goose/Gander.

Second, what are we trying (or needing) to fix with any addition (and what is the spread between what we have in the spot and what the addition would bring).  Is perimeter D the issue?  We are 13th in 3's allowed and 5th in percentage of points from 3 pointers.  We aren't giving up points at the line.  We are 5th in opponent points from FT's.  Its all coming from 2 points (29th) and specifically from the paint (28th).  To put a non-C/non-PF name to this, I'm not sure Alex Caruso fixes this.  Sure, he does a better job of keeping 'his guy' out of the paint.  What about the other four?

We are getting destroyed on the defensive glass.  We are 26th in Opponent O-Reb% and 25th in total O-Reb's allowed.  Again, does Alex Caruso fix that?  I guess one could substitute OG for Caruso and help the rebounding.  But, there is no way we are trading for a CAA client who can't be extended.  Does DFS help our rebounding and PiP issue?  Probably not.

The data comes from teamrankings.com which is a data site for gamblers.  It is currently projecting us at 4th in the West at 48.7 wins.  We are behind Denver at 58.3, Minnesota at 53.3 and GS at 50.5.  Fifth place is Phoenix at 45.2 wins.    48 wins was my prediction, so I'm in agreement with this.  But, the teams we probably match up with the worst are Denver and Minnesota.  We need a bigger body in those matchups and no people, Drummond is not the answer.