As the Los Angeles Lakers have been going through a very rough start, fingers were pointed. That is completely normal for any team with LeBron James on it. The King has a tendency to influence front office decisions and has done so in the past. Now, the finger of blame was pointed towards the duo of Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Jordan. The two players have been reportedly shipped around the league and should be traded by the end of the 2022 trade deadline. Examining their influence on the Lakers season is tough, simply because they did not play that much. However, they might be rather relevant for certain teams in the league that could require their help. Thus, let's look at the two best trade destinations for Lakers' Kent Bazemore.
Kent Bazemore trade destinations
It is only natural that the first team is the one Bazemore has the best memories from. Before joining the Lakers for the second time in his career, Kent Bazemore played his best basketball in Georgia, for the Hawks. Overall, in five years in Atlanta, Bazemore played 355 games in the regular season, averaging 10.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. In the postseason, he played an additional 32 games, including the 2014-15 Hawks run to the Conference Finals. He played a huge role off the bench for all these Hawks teams and the State Farm Arena crowd will definitely welcome him with open arms.
It is not all about nostalgia, though. Bazemore can really help a struggling Hawks team regain some of their strength. Right now, the Hawks have good options on the wings offensively, but their defense is absolutely atrocious. Currently rated the 27th defense in the league per Basketball Reference, the Hawks would really need some defensive help on the guards and wings positions. Bazemore is not ideal, but he will definitely be an upgrade. He has not been great for the Lakers, but if the context is taken into consideration, where the Lakers have been under a ton of pressure since the get-go, a step away from the King James spotlight will do wonders for Bazemore.
In Atlanta, the pressure is still there, but it is nowhere near the Lakers level. Hawks fans want the team to do well, but Trae Young still does not bring the same pressure to the table as others in the league. In Atlanta, a familiar setting for Kent Bazemore, the guard will be able to concentrate on closing out his NBA tab in the right way. It would be very tough to expect the same output he had a few years back, where he was a key part of that squad, but he can be the defensive specialist playing 20-25 minutes per contest off the bench.
Also, the recent surge of Lance Stephenson and Indiana might prove as a good example. In essence, Stephenson, also a former Lakers player, should not be doing well, since he has not played major minutes for an NBA team since the 2018-19 season. However, he has been a solid addition for the Pacers and even scored 30 off the bench in a recent game versus the Nets. As he said after the game, he felt that his powers were back when the Pacers jersey was on and something similar might happen to Kent Bazemore as well. Obviously, it is hard to expect that he will score 30 off the bench, but if he can channel his defensive powers, the Hawks will be a better squad.
The Knicks could also be an option for the Lakers wing. The squad from Manhattan has had minor issues with wing defense this year. They are only 26th in steals per game and they allow a ton of three-point attempts to their opponents per game. Of course, Bazemore alone cannot get that fixed, but he could be a start. It would not be as good of a fit as the Hawks, but the Knicks should definitely consider it.
Firstly, Kent Bazemore and coach Tim Thibodeau seem like a natural fit. While his Lakers stint has not gone too well, he is still a tireless, defense-first wing that has no holds barred when it comes to effort on the court. He sprints up and down the floor and can prove to be a great example for Thibs' defensive and overall basketball mentality. Bazemore also brings some shooting to a squad struggling to get some offense together.
Once again, it needs to be stated that this Lakers stint is not the real Kent Bazemore. The overall context of the situation clearly affects everyone in Los Angeles, and thus he cannot exert that much influence on the court. The Knicks, while a huge franchise, have not been under the spotlight as much this season, thus it would be a welcome change for Bazemore. With a coach that epitomizes his mentality on the court, Bazemore would be able to thrive and while he will never be the complete difference-maker, he will do his job correctly in the Knicks uniform.
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