The Los Angeles Lakers, who have started the season 0-3 after an inexplicable choke against the Portland Trail Blazers, are unequivocally the worst three-point shooting team in the league, having made a terrible 8.3 threes on 39.3 attempts per night through their first three games, a putrid 21.2 percent that's eight percentage points lower than the next team, the Chicago Bulls. (For reference, the 29th-ranked Bulls are eight percentage points below the 12th-ranked New Orleans Pelicans.)
Having no reliable threats from beyond the arc is about the worst imaginable roster construction for a LeBron James-led team. The Lakers need help, and fast.
While the expectation of most fans is that the Lakers will end up relinquishing their picks for a package headlined by the Indiana Pacers' duo of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, another name has cropped up as a potential target: Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Lakers' interest in the 28-year old guard “remains high”, but it remains to be seen whether the Hornets will be willing to give up Rozier, given their stronger-than-expected 2-1 start to the new campaign.
“The Lakers and Hornets held discussions about a possible three- or four-team trade during the summer, and hold him in high regard among their possible trade possibilities, but the dynamic Hornets guard’s availability will be entirely predicated on the franchise’s direction for the future and its play as the season goes on,” Charania wrote.
Terry Rozier isn't the sexiest name on the block, but he will provide the Lakers an entirely new dimension to their offense that the current iteration of Russell Westbrook simply isn't capable of giving.
In 204 games as a Hornet, Rozier has averaged 19.3 points on three triples a night, shooting a solid 38.8% percent from deep, making him a perfect complement to LeBron James as a guard who can both reliably create his offense on the perimeter and provide a threat off the ball.
Nonetheless, the Lakers' pursuit of Rozier might not be anything more than a pipe dream, with Rozier signed to a team-friendly, four-year $97 million extension that'll keep him in teal and purple until 2026.
Shooting is a premium skill in today's NBA, and it's hard to envision the Hornets, despite LaMelo Ball's injury woes and Miles Bridges' legal issues, selling such a coveted asset in Terry Rozier while taking on Westbrook's dreadful contract, expiring as it may be.
Still, the Lakers can't really help but be ambitious right now, as the reality of their current situation is as bleak as it gets.
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