The Los Angeles Lakers, despite all their defensive struggles and shortcomings, sit with the sixth-best record in the league at 22-11.
The Lakers are coming off a dreadful month of December , and yet they are still in the thick of things in the league and in the loaded Western Conference. Nonetheless, Los Angeles has a long way to go if they want to be considered title contenders this season and certainly moving forward.
A trade is almost imminent for the Lakers, and the type of player LA could acquire is a defensive stopper. The Lakers’ defense has been abysmal all season long.
They are currently 24th in defensive rating, allowing 117.4 points per 100 possessions. That number is atrocious, and the other defensive numbers aren’t pretty as well. The Lakers’ defense ranks 26th in opponent effective field goal percentage, 29th in opponent three-point percentage and 28th in opponent shooting efficiency.
It’s no secret how bad the Lakers’ defense is, which is why they need to add an elite defender to their team prior to the trade deadline. One of the names that has been linked to the team is Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis. In a recent column by ESPN NBA insiders, Kevin Pelton urges the Lakers to call up the Kings for Ellis.
“If I ran the Lakers, I would be calling the Sacramento Kings daily about guard Keon Ellis, who has been in and out of coach Doug Christie’s crowded backcourt rotation after averaging 24.4 minutes last season. Ellis is a career 41.6% 3-point shooter who excels at defending on the ball. Perhaps most importantly, he’s making the minimum in the last season of his rookie contract. Not only would Ellis easily fit into the Lakers’ cap sheet now — and give them the ability to address the frontcourt using other expiring contracts — his tiny cap hold would help maximize their flexibility this summer.”
Ellis is exactly the type of player the Lakers need. He provides significant defensive impact and his three-point shooting is great, shooting north of 40 percent from deep.
On top of all that, he would be a bargain given what he provides for a basketball team. Ellis is currently under a three-year, $5.1 million contract with the final 2025-26 season being a team option that the Kings exercised.
The Lakers would greatly benefit from the play of Ellis on their team as he is a tenacious defender and could stretch the floor for LA at only the age of 25.
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