Saying they struck out may be a bit harsh, as they did scrape some decent value out of the bargain bin—let's call it a bloop single.
The biggest fish the Lakers caught this offseason were Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin, but neither guy moves the needle all that much.
Of the two, Lin will be the more productive player. He is a very good scorer with the ball in his hands and showed a lot of improvement in his three-point shooting last season.
The big question with Lin is whether or not he will start at the point this year.
Lin's game is optimally suited to coming off the bench—a role the Houston Rockets smartly put him in this past season—where he has more freedom to dominate the ball and hunt for his own shot.
Facilitating the offense is still not a strength of Lin's, and his shaky decision-making leads to a lot of turnovers.
However, if Steve Nash can't stay on the court—and at this point there's no reason to expect he will—Lin will be thrust into the starting job. He can do an adequate job there, but in a conference loaded with high-quality 1s—including three point guards in the Pacific Division alone who were All-NBA in 2014—he will have a tough time just holding his own.
As for Boozer, the $3.3 million L.A. paid to win his services is not bad for a guy who can still score and rebound at a decent clip.
Unfortunately, that clip is rapidly deteriorating. Boozer is coming off the worst season of his career, posting a PER below the league average for the first time ever.
A career 52 percent shooter from the field, Boozer failed to connect on even 46 percent of his field goals in 2014, and he actually finished in the negative column in offensive win shares.
Playing in Chicago's a...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
