NBA Rumors: Lakers Could Replace Rajon Rondo With Goran Dragic As Their Primary Backup PG In 2020-21 Season
Despite being one of the heavy favorites to bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy this year, the Los Angeles Lakers are still expected to seek roster upgrades in the 2020 NBA offseason. Like most NBA teams, the Lakers aren’t perfect and still have issues that they need to address, including their lack of another ball-handler and shot creator. To solve their backcourt problem, one of the players that the Lakers could target in the 2020 NBA free agency is Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat.
In his recent article, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report named Dragic the “ambitious 2020 free-agent target” for the Lakers. Dragic may no longer be in his prime, but he still has plenty of gas left in his tank and could be very useful to a title-contending team like the Lakers. Though Dragic has already shown a decline in his performance, Favale believes that the player would still be a better primary backup point guard for the Lakers next season than Rajon Rondo.
“And with few to no alternative wings worth the Lakers’ time, settling on Goran Dragic is the move. Bench-heavy lineups that have him spell LeBron as the primary ball-handler would be infinitely more potent than Rajon Rondo-led combinations. He also poses less of an overlap next to LeBron himself. Spot-up possessions have accounted for more than 15 percent of Dragic’s total offense so far this season. He rates inside the 70th percentile of efficiency in these situations. By comparison, more than 18 percent of Rondo’s offensive possessions have come as spot-ups. He’s in the 27th percentile of efficiency.”
Dragic would undeniably be an incredible addition to the Lakers, giving them a veteran point guard with plenty of playoff experience. The potential arrival of Dragic in Los Angeles would immediately address the Lakers’ need for another ball-handler and shot creator. Though the main reason for bringing him to the Lakers would be to replace Rondo as the team’s primary backup point guard, Coach Frank Vogel could also use Dragic as a starter when he wants to move LeBron James in the wing.
Aside from being a reliable playmaker, Dragic is also a capable scorer and floor-spacer. This season, the 34-year-old point guard is averaging 16.1 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. Dragic may not have shown any indication that he’s no longer happy in Miami, but he would definitely be intrigued by the idea of playing alongside James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles. Though the Lakers aren’t the team that could offer Dragic a huge payday in the 2020 NBA free agency, joining them could give him a realistic chance of winning an NBA championship title before he permanently ends his career.
