Breaking: Lakers Offers Jalen Hood-Schifino in Exchange for Hornets’ Top Three-Point Shooter.
Finding a partner for LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be the main goal of the Los Angeles Lakers summer. They may, however, take other little steps in different directions. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report has proposed a trade in which the Lakers acquire choices and Seth Curry from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Jalen Hood-Schifino.
The Lakers would receive: Curry, a 2026 second-round selection, and the No. 42 choice in the NBA draft in 2024.
Hood-Schifino would go to the Hornets.
On May 29, Buckley wrote, “Curryan has converted 43.1 percent of his career three-point attempts, so some team short on shooting like the Lakers could want a crack at him.” They may also be vying for these two second-round picks in order to set themselves up for a potential larger deal in the future, but in order to do so, they would need to make financial sacrifices in order to fall below the first round.
“The Hornets should strike first if that’s all it takes to acquire Hood-Schifino, who the Lakers selected with the No. 17 overall choice in the previous round. Despite having little experience playing in the NBA, he still has a very high ceiling because of his size for the position, his ability to create off of pick-and-rolls, and his playmaking skills.
Hood-Schifino might wind up playing for the Lakers in the future, but adding a veteran like Curry might be a better choice in the moment while James and Davis are available to win.
The Los Angeles Lakers Require Three-Pointers
The goal of signing Curry would be to provide the Los Angeles Lakers with a shooter capable of making three-pointers quickly. The Lakers made just 11.7 three-pointers per game in 2023–24, which put them in the bottom seven of the NBA.
Despite having a strong team performance from outside the arc (37.6%), they only attempted 31.0 tries per game, the fewest in the whole NBA.
In the NBA, three-point shooting is more crucial than ever. The Boston Celtics, who have secured their spot in the NBA Finals, made the most three-pointers this season. The second-most team was the Dallas Mavericks, who must win one more game to advance to face the Celtics.
Curry provides the Lakers with the three-point shooting they sorely needed during the previous campaign.
How the Lakers Would Benefit from Seth Curry
Curry has spent a large portion of his career traveling the league. After being traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Charlotte Hornets, he only appeared in eight games for the team.
He was unable to play due to a strain to his right ankle. He did, however, play 13.1 minutes per game in 35 games for the Mavericks. That follows a season in which he made 61 appearances for the Brooklyn Nets, logging 19.9 minutes of action.
Curry shoots a high percentage of three points when he’s performing at his best. Throughout his career, which began in the 2013–14 campaign, Curry has made 43.1% of his three-point shots.
If the Lakers had a successful offseason, he’d probably start for them off the bench, but Curry is still valuable. When he runs with the first team, he might find himself with open shots if the Lakers are able to bring in that third star alongside Davis and James.
