Lakers Will Acquire Roy Hibbert From Indiana Pacers

Five days into free agency, the Lakers have not made an official signing yet. However, the front office may have salvaged their offseason by acquiring former All-Star Roy Hibbert from the Indiana Pacers.

ESPN’s Marc Stein first reported the trade:

Despite striking out with their major free agent targets, the Lakers front office has pulled off an excellent move. The Los Angeles Times’ Mike Bresnahan reports that both teams have agreed to a deal:

This deal makes a lot of sense and I will tell you why.

Firstly, the Lakers are only sending money, a future second round pick, and rights to overseas players. They did not have to give up any of their current players and this will only benefit the team, as they will need all the help they can get.

Hibbert’s contract may be worth $15.5 million but here is where things get interesting. Hibbert has an expiring contract, which means that the Lakers can do what they want with him at season’s end. Depending on the type of season he has (successful or not), they could resign him to a long-term deal such as $60 million over five years, or just let him walk away.

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Now let’s talk about Roy Hibbert as a basketball player.

Over the course of his career, Hibbert has averages of 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. When you look at those numbers, they don’t exactly jump out for a player who is 7-foot-2 and 278 lbs. However, Hibbert is known for his defense.

During the 2014-15 season, teams only shot 42.6-percent at the rim against Hibbert, which was the lowest percentage in the league. Now if you ask me, those are elite defensive numbers. The Lakers needed a defensive big man and they got exactly that in Hibbert.

Let’s look back a little further to the 2012-13 NBA Playoffs where Hibbert really excelled. During the post-season, he averaged 17.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.

I want to look at the Eastern Conference Finals specifically where Hibbert dominated on both ends of the floor. Although the Pacers lost to the Miami Heat in seven games, Hibbert averaged 22.1 points, 10.4 rebound, and 1.0 block.

During that series, Hibbert played some of his best basketball and the Lakers will be looking for their new starting center to produce similar numbers.

Although I’ve been making a case for Hibbert being an elite defensive big man, he is not as bad offensively as people may think, but there is room for improvement.

Hibbert finds himself in back-to-the-basket post-up situations 44.4% of his attempts, converting only 0.84 points per possession. If you’ve watched Hibbert play, you know he doesn’t always establish himself in the low-post but rather in the high-post.

From the right block, Hibbert is converting 50-percent of his attempts while scoring 1.09 points per possession. When posting on the left block, Hibbert is only shooting 42.9-percent. Why is he more effective from the right block? When Roy is able to turn to the middle, he can finish with his right-handed hook which he converts 59.3% of his attempts. Therefore, if Hibbert wants to become a better post player, he will have to improve his post-game on the left block.

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Roy Hibbert can improve his post-game by working more from the right in the low post, add a couple post-moves and you have yourself an offensive juggernaut. If he can improve his post-game from the left block, Hibbert can become unpredictable. Hibbert has to use his size and length to his advantage and if he can do that, he can be a game changer not only on the defensive end, but also on offense.

Embracing the system of analytics will only help the Lakers identify where a player is more effective and which areas he can work on.

All in all, this is an excellent move for the Lakers, as they will be adding the defensive big man they have so desperately needed over the last couple seasons. Hibbert will be a good offensive player but if he can be a constant defensive stopper, the Lakers may not be in bad shape after all.

With the trade being official after July 9, could Roy Hibbert revive his career and be the big man of the future for the Lakers? A change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered for Hibbert.