The Lakers have reportedly considered signing Matthew Dellavedova in free agency

There are two things that should never be underestimated in a LeBron James team: shooting and defense. The Los Angeles Lakers learned it the hard way in the summer of 2018, but they learned their lesson and followed the proven formula to win a championship with James in 2019. Let’s just say it worked out pretty well for them.

The Lakers will be looking for shooting and defense wherever they can find it this offseason, especially after leaving Danny Green and Avery Bradley. For this reason, they reportedly toyed with the idea of ​​signing Matthew Dellavedova, who won a championship with LeBron James in 2016.

Dellavedova was the shell of his old self last season, shooting 35.4 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from behind the arc, but the Lakers weren’t crazy to have some interest in him. He is only 30 years old and he has experience playing with James. He’s also a competent ground general and can play respectable defense whenever he wants. As the third rope guard he would have been a great addition.

Now that Dellavedova is off the board, the Lakers will have to look elsewhere for a third playmaker, and the pool of players isn’t exactly impressive at this point in free agency. Here are a few players who are still in the market, courtesy of Bobby Marks:

Unless Shabazz Napier and Emmanual Mudiay suddenly live up to their pre-draft hype, neither of these players move the Lakers’ needle in any meaningful way, and that’s true even if you factor in just how their role would probably be limited.

The Lakers are better off going right after the best available shooter, like Kyle Korver, and playing Talen Horton-Tucker for a few minutes at the point guard. I mean, if Horton-Tucker was ready for the playoff minutes, he should have regular season playing time, right?

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