The Los Angeles Lakers are a team on the rise in the NBA right now. Head coach Luke Walton has his team performing at a top-5 level on the defensive end, but the offense has been struggling mightily.
One big reason for it is the lack of perimeter shooting as the Lakers currently rank dead last in three-point percentage by a large margin. Simply put, L.A. just doesn’t have too many shooters, but the front office is looking at possible help.
The team has been rumored to have interest in free agent forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who was recently released by the New York Knicks. According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, the Lakers recently met with him as they are evaluating their wing depth:
“The Lakers are keeping tabs on free agent Mindaugas Kuzminskas. According to sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking, the Lakers, in need of perimeter shooting, are doing their due diligence and met with the forward recently while they evaluate their wing depth.”
Kuzminskas seemed to be a decent part of the Knicks’ future as he appeared in 68 games last season, but rarely played this year. The team released him to make room for the return of center Joakim Noah, and the Lakers, who had interest in him last offseason, are rightfully checking all options to improve their team.
Last year Kuzminskas shot 32.1 percent from three-point range. While that isn’t necessarily an outstanding number, it would put him fourth on the Lakers behind only Jordan Clarkson, Brook Lopez, and Kyle Kuzma.
The Lakers are in need of more wing depth and Kuzminskas would provide that. Corey Brewer has been good on defense, but doesn’t help the Lakers’ spacing issues, and rookie Josh Hart has struggled recently with his shot and just came back from a short stint in the G-League.
Of course, the Lakers are at their roster limit and would have to release someone if they were to sign Kuzminskas.
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