GOOD NEWS: LA Lakers finally agreed to sign Michael Porter Jr for $95 Million’s… See More…
The Los Angeles Lakers fielded one of the deepest and most talented teams in the NBA in 2023-24. Yet, they just managed to squeeze in as the No. 7 seed in the West in the 2024 NBA Playoffs before losing 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
The Lakers have not been able to seriously contend for a championship in three of the last four seasons with LeBron James and Anthony Davis at their helm, but one NBA executive knows just the solution that could propel them back to dominance in the Western Conference.
An anonymous general manager recently asserted that Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. is the player best suited to open up the floor for L.A. while maintaining their sizable frontcourt.
Porter Jr. ticks all of those boxes and then some. The combo forward was the sixth-most efficient three-point shooter among all NBA players who made at least one three per game standing at 6-10 or taller, having shot 39.7 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season. He also posted the eighth-best offensive rating at 120.2. The Missouri product is a proven inside-out scorer who has won at the highest level. The 25-year-old has the youth and experience that James has shown a desire to have alongside him.
The knocks to Porter Jr. are his defense and his health. He plays satisfactory team defense with a defensive rating of 112.1, but Porter Jr. does not carry the reputation of being a perimeter stopper or great rim protector. His lengthy history of back injuries dating back to his days in college is also a cause for concern for a Lakers team that is liable to lose the oft-injured Davis for extended stretches of any given season.
