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Why the Los Angeles Lakers are the big losers of the Trade Deadline

By Jason Reed

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 01: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers slap hands after their team scored against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on February 01, 2020 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 01: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers slap hands after their team scored against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on February 01, 2020 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

2. The Lakers’ plan B is not great

I cannot even begin to start getting excited about the idea of J.R. Smith coming to the Los Angeles Lakers. Fans can dress it up whichever way they want, but adding Smith at this point in the season is not an improvement to the team, it is a flier that the team hopes beats the odds and pans out.

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The Lakers are reportedly bringing Smith in for a workout after being inactive at the deadline. The glass-half-full outlook gives us a guy with a lot of playoff experience that can shoot the three. The glass-half-empty, and realistic, outlook gives us a guy that has not played since November 2018, for a reason.

Smith’s shooting numbers were low in his last three years in Cleveland and he was no longer the reliable three and D backcourt option that he was earlier in his career. He adds no new dynamic to the Lakers.

It is easier to get excited about Darren Collison, who the Lakers appear to be the frontrunner to sign. Collison absolutely has a higher chance of panning out with the Lakers and brings a new dynamic, especially with his 42.4 three-point percentage the last four years of his career.

However, there is also a fairly decent chance that Collison does not pan out. While in a perfect world he can replace Rajon Rondo, who has been bad, in the rotation, Collison has been removed from all professional basketball activities for nearly 10 months.

He is not an elite defender, but that is not where his value is. The problem with Collison, mixed with him being out of action for 10 months, is that his production in the playoffs often dips.

Collison’s playoff three-point shooting drops all the way to 33.3 percent, although his per-36 scoring numbers are around the same.

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Collison is definitely an improvement over Rondo but is not as good as some of the options that could have been available via trade, such as Derrick Rose.

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