The 2019 Free Agency will be one of the best in the past couple of decades because of the sheer number of talented superstars available for bidding. The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be major players next offseason, and Stephen A. Smith believes that the team should set their sights more on Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson.
During a heated discussion between Smith and Max Kellerman on ESPN's First Take, the former chose the Warriors shooting guard as the best sidekick for LeBron James.
At first, Kellerman was making an argument on who between Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard (both 2019 free agents) should the Lakers pursue. But when he asked Stephen A. Smith to provide his opinion, he received an unexpected answer.
But unexpected as it is, the ever-bold analyst is actually making sense. First off, he emphasized that he doesn't think that Thompson is individually better than KD and Kawhi. But that doesn't take away the fact that Klay is indeed in a superstar level in this league.
Over the last four seasons, he has eclipsed the 20-point mark in average points each year. That's really difficult for Klay Thompson to do, considering that he is the third scoring option for the team with Durant and Stephen Curry carrying most of the offensive workload. But if you're shooting 46% overall in field goals and 42% beyond the arc like Klay does throughout his career, then not being the first scoring option is not a problem at all.
Another thing that Smith reiterates is that if the Lakers successfully lures Thompson to his hometown, then they also take him out of the Warriors lineup. The Dubs lose one-half of the Splash Brothers, and their offense will definitely take a step back without their ultimate floor spacer.
Lastly, LeBron will be expected to handle most of the ballhandling duties in any team that he would play for. Out of those three 2019 free agents aforementioned, Klay is arguably the most effective off-ball scorer and he will reap abundant benefits from LeBron's incredible vision and passing.
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