Lakers Rumors: Free agent options to replace Nick Young
By Jason Reed
Ersan Ilyasova
Despite seeing nearly all of his time at the power forward position, the Laker could reach out to Ersan Ilyasova to transition to the small forward position, giving them two huge options. Standing in at six-foot-ten, Ilyasova would be one of the biggest power forwards in the league and would join an already tall Brandon Ingram.
2016 must have been tough for Ilyasova, as he played on three separate teams. Ilyasova played three games for the Oklahoma City Thunder, 53 for the Philadelphia 76ers, and 26 for the Atlanta Hawks. After juggling between those three teams, and two the year prior, Ilyasova may want to settle, with the beautiful city of Los Angeles being a great place to settle.
While Ilyasova is a power forward, he certainly can make the transition to small forward. His shooting is great, shooting 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc. Ilyasova could run perfectly in a big lineup for the Lakers, being the perfect option to swing the ball out to in the corner.
As far as production, the Lakers would be getting very similar production out of Ilyasova that they were from Nick Young. Ilyasova averaged 13.1 points per game last season, compared to 13.2 from Young, also hauling in 5.8 rebounds. Here the Lakers would be getting a bigger guy, that can bring more to the table, without sacrificing scoring.