By Jordan Long
NBA free agency officially starts on June 30th at 4 P.M. MT. This is when unrestricted free agents can meet with teams to talk about new contracts. These athletes can verbally agree to a new deal but can’t officially sign those until July 6th. The Lakers have one in mind they would like to sign.
The Lakers are coming off a disappointing season, going 37-45 even though L.A has one of the top players in the NBA today in LeBron James. They know they have to build a team around him. The Lakers are the favorites to land Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony would be a great pickup for the offense. He is able to drive in the lane for easy looks, shoot the 3 pointer, and find his teammates for them to score. When he scores down low, Anthony can be fouled and go to the line. He can make free throws with a career percentage of 81.1%. Anthony will also be able to box-out opponents for offensive rebounds and those can be second chance points for the Lakers averaging 1.7 offensive rebounds.
Looking at that, his presence could take some of the pressure off of James. James wouldn’t be the only threat on offense to score or set up his teammates. Teams will then need to decide if they should double team Anthony or James. If one is guarded, that leaves the other one wide open for baskets.
The downside for the Lakers if Anthony heads to L.A. is Anthony’s defense. He is not a defender who stays on his man. He lets rivals drive on him and score. There are times where he permits the man he is guarding to run into the lane and not follow him. That allows them to have an easy drive which could increase the deficit for the Lakers. Anthony doesn’t seem interested in playing on the defensive end. If this happens with the Lakers, it may not improve them in the standings.
The best part of his defensive game is rebounds. He knows how to grab the basketball and start fast breaks. Anthony averages 4.8 defensive rebounds in his career.
The Lakers seem to be the favorites to land Anthony in free agency. The Lakers front office should do their research and see how much of a benefit he is to the team. If they feel he is the top player to help James and is the difference in them making the playoffs, then offer him a contract. The Lakers will do what is best for them.
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