According to a report from Jabari Davis of SheridanHoops.com, the New Orleans Hornets' Anderson is atop the Lakers' wish list should they decide to ultimately deal Gasol:
Ryan Anderson is the No. 1 target of the Los Angeles Lakers if they decide to trade Pau Gasol, an NBA source tells SheridanHoops.com.
"They have a short list, and Anderson seems to be at the top,” the source told SheridanHoops on condition of anonymity.
Logistics aside, you can't blame Los Angeles for its supposed interest in Anderson. He's a true stretch 4 and easily someone who would thrive within Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun system.
Unlike Gasol—who is converting on just 28.6 percent of his three-point attempts—Anderson is more than comfortable from the outside. He's shooting a league-leading 7.7 three-pointers per game and connecting on a career-best 42.3 percent of them. The fact that more than 68 percent of his field-goal attempts come outside of 16 feet doesn't hurt his case, either.
More importantly, though, Anderson is shooting 47.2 percent outside of 16 feet, compared to Gasol's 34.8-percent conversion rate. His effective field-goal percentage of 63.5 also trounces the Spaniard's mark of 42.9.
So again, we must understand that Anderson makes sense from the Lakers' perspective.
But does Gasol make sense from the Hornets'?
Absolutely not. When they were attempting to move Chris Paul last year, perhaps he did. But now, on a young team fully vested in the future of Anthony Davis, he simply doesn't.
Should Steve Nash's return come to pass and Los Angeles remain unsatisfied with Gasol's performance, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll be shopped. And in this case, the Lakers would likely make a call to New O...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
