Two weeks into the season and the Los Angeles Lakers are struggling to find their footing. Despite landing the biggest free agent of the summer in LeBron James to add to their exciting young core, the Tinseltown boys are sporting a not-so-impressive 3-5 record.

Granted that there is more than enough time to right the ship, patience is slowly wearing thin amongst Lakers fans and critics alike. Even team president Magic Johnson reportedly had to give coach Luke Walton an earful after the Lakers’ bizarre performance so far.

The Lakers have a solid core of players and a bench that can match some of the league’s best teams’ reserves. But aside from a defense that is among the worst in the league (22nd in defensive rating) and an offense that sputters in the last few minutes of a ball game, the team needs an injection of size and shooting. In other words, the Lake Show needs to trade for a center and a shooter.

Magic Johnson, Luke Walton
CP

Here are five players who could help the Lakers right away:

5. Nikola Vucevic

It’s no secret that the Lakers need a big man who can play spot up minutes for when the vastly-improved JaVale McGee sits. Nikola Vucevic would be a terrific back up who can score and rebound with the best of them. The veteran center would clean up the glass, one of the team’s biggest needs. They are 20th in rebounding and if the Lakers have aspirations of winning the championship, they better heed Pat Riley’s rallying cry of “no rebounds, no rings”  from when he was still coaching Showtime in L.A.

Not only that, Vucevic also brings in scoring at 18.6 points per game.

4. Kyle Korver

Shooting wasn’t supposed to be an issue for the Lakers because of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope coming back this season and three of their young players, namely Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, shot between 37 percent and 40 percent from the three-point area last season. James also shot 37 percent from three last year with the Cavs. However, KCP, Kuzma, and James are currently shooting below 30 percent from deep and that has contributed to the Lakers' struggles.

To boost their sagging shooting, L.A. could pursue a trade for Kyle Korver. For one, playing with James for two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers should benefit him greatly as the 15-time All-Star is familiar with Korver’s game. Korver doesn’t have to play plenty of minutes to be effective. He just has to come off the bench and fill in for the starters when they need three-point shooting.

3. Robin Lopez

Another back-up center option for the Lakers is the Chicago Bulls’ Robin Lopez. He’s a solid defender and rebounder who can add toughness to the team as a whole and will shore up their interior defense immensely.

Lopez is on the final year of his deal and the Lakers have a couple of players on one-year deals that the Bulls might be interested in.

2. Derrick Favors

One of the best reserve big men in the league is Derrick Favors. With a two-year deal where the second year isn’t guaranteed, he’s essentially on an expiring deal. Again, the Lakers can offer one of their one-year deal guys in exchange for Favors along with a player or two, if necessary.

Favors should be able to help immediately, someone who can play behind McGee or with him on the court at the same time if they want to play big. What Favors brings to the table is more flexibility with their lineups. The veteran is a reliable scorer and rebounder that the Lakers covet coming off the bench.

 

1. Bradley Beal

This was suggested by Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady during an episode of ESPN’s The Jump. Bradley Beal is just the right shooting guard to pair with James, an All-Star who can shoot the lights out from the perimeter and be a dependable scorer especially when the offense bogs down.

James knows how to get his shooters open and there are few who are better at putting the ball in the basket and be a consistent 20-point scorer than Beal. The veteran shooting guard is averaging 23.1 points per game this season and it would be interesting to see how much higher that average could be by playing alongside James.

While it may seem like a far-fetched idea, the Lakers could package at least two of their young players along with Pope to entice the Wizards to bite the bait. This gives the Lakers a second All-Star on the team, making them just one more All-Star away from being a stronger title contender next year when they have the cap space to sign another big-name in free agency. Beal would solve both a short-term problem and a long-term one especially since Magic hopes to win more than a championship with James within the four-year duration of his deal.