Lakers News: Latest on Roy Hibbert, Trading Nick Young and More

The Los Angeles Lakers' biggest offseason win came before free agency even started, when general manager Mitch Kupchak made the decision to select Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick.

That doesn’t mean Kupchack and the Lakers haven’t tried luring some marquee free agents to Los Angeles—it just means that they haven’t exactly been successful in their wooing.

Though the Lakers missed on all of the first-tier free agents, they’ve done well to procure a solid, albeit ragtag, group of role players around the aging Kobe Bryant and his new protegee, Russell.

Let’s break down what we know for certain, what might be and what could be in the City of Angels.

 

Hibbert’s Here

Talks centered on sending Indiana Pacers big man Roy Hibbert to Los Angeles had been swirling since the Fourth of July, when ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that Indiana had engaged the Lakers in trade talks:



The deal finally became official on Thursday, with Hibbert shipped to the Lakers in exchange for a future second-round draft pick, per Mark Trudell of Time Warner Cable SportsNet:



Hibbert, an NBA All-Star in 2012 and 2014, has fallen off as precipitously, if not more so, than any player in recent memory. The former Georgetown Hoya posted career highs in points per game (12.8), rebounds (8.8), player efficiency rating (19.3) and win shares (6.2) during the 2011-2012 season, but he hasn’t been able to surpass any of those numbers in the three seasons since.

The 7’2, 275-pound center won’t solve the Lakers’ myriad problems, but he’ll provide a strong shot-deterring presence in the middle for an L.A. defense that ranked 29th in the NBA last season, per NBA.com.

Following the signings of Lou Williams (three years, $21 million) and Brandon Bass (two...

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