At 27-7, the Los Angeles Lakers are having a great 2019-20 NBA season as they have a sizable lead at the top of the Western Conference and have the league’s second-best record.
Despite this incredible start and Los Angeles consistently finding ways to win, there are still clear improvements they must make before they head into the 2020 NBA playoffs.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka knows this and is reportedly actively looking to improve the roster with the buyout market looking like the better route over the trade market. And while the Lakers have several things they need to fix, there’s one move in particular they seem to value most.
Los Angeles reportedly will be looking to add a backup point guard by making it their No. 1 priority in the search to improve the roster, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“Backup point guard is the No. 1 priority as they look towards improving their roster as we go into the postseason.”
This goal was made a little bit easier with Darren Collison reportedly considering a return after retirement with the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers as his top two options:
After a stunning retirement prior to free agency, veteran guard Darren Collison is considering a February return to the NBA – with the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers emerging as his preferred destinations, league sources told ESPN.
Adding Collison would be huge for the Lakers and would immediately fill a hole at the backup point guard position. Right now, that spot belongs to Rajon Rondo and while his ballhandling and court vision are solid, his defensive inefficiencies and lack of scoring prowess diminishes his value as a player.
The Lakers need someone other than LeBron James who can effectively run the pick-and-roll as the ballhandler and actually be a threat to score. Opposing defenses don’t respect Rondo enough as a scorer to make his pick-and-rolls meaningful as they usually just stick to the roll man — especially if it’s Anthony Davis.
Even if it’s not Collison specifically, a scoring backup point guard is a must for this team for the exact same reasons. Whether they target someone via trade or the buyout market will depend on the player and what that market looks like but either way, it seems as though everyone in the Lakers is aware of what needs to happen.