For months, the Los Angeles Lakers had been looking to move Russell Westbrook, but now that he is playing better off the bench, that thinking has changed, as their main trade chips are now reportedly Kendrick Nunn, Patrick Beverley and a future first-round draft pick with some protection.
They’re reportedly hoping to lure one or two good 3-point shooters with that package, and one name that has been mentioned often is the Detroit Pistons’ Bojan Bogdanovic.
“Los Angeles’ primary trade efforts at this juncture have centered around a much smaller outgoing package of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and a protected future first, sources told Yahoo Sports,” wrote Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “The Lakers approached Detroit with that proposal in hopes of prying away Bojan Bogdanovic. The pick in question, however, was heavily protected, sources said, and the Pistons seem keen to hold out for a more tangible draft asset to part with Bogdanovic.”
Nunn, who missed all of last season with a bone bruise in his knee, was expected to be a significant contributor this season. In two prior years with the Miami Heat, the undrafted guard developed into a dependable scorer off the dribble who was efficient from inside and beyond the arc.
This season, however, he has been played inconsistently, and his production has been at least as inconsistent as his playing time.
Beverley was expected to be a 3-and-D role player after L.A. acquired him from the Utah Jazz for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson over the summer. Even though his defense has been an asset at times, his 3-point shooting has been atrocious, which is the last thing the team needed, given it already had a glaring lack of outside shooting.
Bogdanovic could be just what the doctor ordered in terms of helping the Lakers with their shooting woes. He is an outstanding 3-point shooter, not just in terms of accuracy but also in terms of volume.
He’s averaging 21.0 points a game while shooting 43.7 percent from beyond the arc and 50.8 percent overall for Detroit this season. He can play both small forward and power forward, which would allow him to start alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis while sliding to the 4 when James is resting.
After starting 2-10, the Lakers have won nine of their last 15 games. They have some strengths, such as their transition game and ability to punish teams offensively in the paint, but their inability to hit from the outside has stymied their half-court offense.
There has been a feeling within the team that it is just one or two solid role players away from being able to contend in the always-competitive Western Conference.
