Bad Fit: Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are desperate to change up their roster and improve their fortunes for next season. Adding Rudy Gobert, though, would not be an advisable way to do so.
Los Angeles won the 2020 title by playing Anthony Davis at the four and having either Dwight Howard or Javale McGee at center.
While it worked then, trying to replicate that with Rudy Gobert would not work. In the Lakers’ title run, Anthony Davis shot career highs from midrange and three. His shooting splits allowed the Lakers to run with another big without compromising their offensive spacing.
This season, though, Davis shot 18.6% from three – a significant regression. Playing that version of Davis along with Gobert would bog down their offense – especially if Russell Westbrook is still around.
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Defensively, a Gobert and Davis frontcourt would be absolutely dominant inside for the Lakers. However, the offensive issues this duo would have make the pairing untenable.
In addition, teams with a high number of perimeter creators could take advantage of the large (read: slow) frontcourt, especially deep in the playoffs.
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The Lakers would likely need to move Russell Westbrook in any Gobert trade to make the deal work financially. It’s unlikely the Jazz would even consider adding Westbrook, much less in a deal sending away their all-defensive center.
