The Lakers considered signing Matthew Dellavedova in free agency before he returned to the Cavaliers

There are two things that should never be undervalued on a LeBron James team: shooting and defense. The Los Angeles Lakers learned that the hard way in the summer of 2018, but they learned their lesson and followed the proven formula for winning a championship with James in 2019. Let’s just say it worked out pretty well for them.

The Lakers will be looking for shooting and defense wherever they can find it again this offseason, especially after they moved on from Danny Green and Avery Bradley. For that reason, they reportedly toyed with the idea of signing Matthew Dellavedova, who played won a championship with LeBron James in 2016.

Dellavedova was shell of his former self last season, shooting a lowly 35.4% from the field and 23.1% from behind the arc, but the Lakers weren’t crazy to have some level of interest in him. He’s only 30 years old and he has experience playing with James. He’s also a capable floor general, and can play respectable defense when he wants to. As a third string guard, he would have been a fine addition.

Now that Dellavedova is off of the board, the Lakers will have to look elsewhere for a third string point guard, and the pool of players isn’t exactly awe-inspiring at this stage of free agency. Here are a few players that are still on the market, courtesy of Bobby Marks:

Unless Shabazz Napier and Emmanual Mudiay suddently live up their pre-draft hype, none of those players are moving the needle for the Lakers in a meaningful way, and that’s true even when you take into account how limited their role would likely be.

The Lakers are better off just going after the best shooter available, like Kyle Korver, and playing Talen Horton-Tucker spot minutes at point guard. I mean, if Horton-Tucker was ready for playoff minutes, he’s bound to get some playing time in the regular season, right?

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