On Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers made a boost to their overall shooting profile by adding Dalton Knecht out of the University of Tennessee with the seventeenth pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. At the age of 23, Knecht figures to be one of the more NBA-ready prospects in this year's draft class and will provide some floor spacing for a Lakers team that didn't have a ton of that in their series vs the Denver Nuggets.
Still, Rob Pelinka and company's work in reshaping this flawed roster is far from complete, as Los Angeles will now turn their attention to free agency and the trade market to try to continue to add depth around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Recently, the Brooklyn Nets presumably began a rebuild of their team by sending Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, which opened up speculation that the team could also be parting ways with some of their other key pieces. If the latest reports are any indication, the Lakers could want to get in on the action.
“That third star they talked about pursuing with the three first-round picks at their disposal no longer seems as likely with Mitchell back with the Cavs and Jimmy Butler likely to remain in Miami. Then again, never say never when it comes to stars wanting to play for the purple and gold. The Lakers are among the teams expected to be interested in (Cam) Johnson from Brooklyn,” reported Matt Moore of Action Network.
What would Cam Johnson add to the Lakers?
Cam Johnson is one of the best pure jump shooters in the NBA, having honed his craft from his college days across multiple ACC schools and bringing it with him to become a key contributor on some very good Phoenix Suns teams, and now with the Nets.
While he isn't the most versatile or elite athlete, Johnson still possesses the height and wingspan to at least be a serviceable team defender and fits the archetype of floor spacing wing players that virtually every NBA team is looking to stockpile at the present moment.
In theory, Johnson would be a hand in glove fit with pretty much any team around the league, including the Lakers, who had a good shooting season from the perimeter during the regular year but saw that production dip dramatically in their playoff loss vs the Denver Nuggets, as D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Austin Reaves all seemed to go cold at the worst time en route to the five game series loss.
Johnson would immediately provide a degree of floor spacing around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and also add some more depth for the somewhat likely scenario that those two don't play as many games as they did this past season.
As for what the Lakers would have to give up, it certainly helps that basically the whole NBA knows that the Nets are currently embracing a rebuild, meaning their leverage might be a bit lower than normal.
In any case, with the Finals now concluded, the Lakers are free to make trades and explore the market.
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