On Monday, JJ Redick was officially introduced as the Los Angeles Lakers’ new head coach, and regardless of how people feel about his hiring, he will not be able to succeed unless the Lakers give him a strong roster to work with.
They can go in one of a few directions as far as upgrading that roster, and one of those directions is upgrading in the backcourt, especially in terms of a ball-handling, facilitating guard.
Collin Sexton of the Utah Jazz was mentioned by two ESPN writers as a possible trade target for Los Angeles.
Via ESPN:
“The Lakers likely will explore the trade market to see what type of veterans they can add to give LeBron James, Anthony Davis and new coach J.J. Redick the best chance of competing this season, with NBA names such as Dejounte Murray and Collin Sexton being batted around by rival teams as possible targets.”
While the Lakers went after Murray prior to the trade deadline, Sexton is a name that hasn’t come up much. Sexton isn’t perhaps a natural facilitator, but he is a young backcourt stud who can score.
This season, he averaged 18.7 points a game on 48.7% field-goal shooting and 39.4% from 3-point range, and he has gotten as high as 24.3 points per contest three seasons ago.
At age 25, the 6-foot-3 guard could also be someone who takes the Lakers into the post-LeBron James era and keeps them competitive after the future Hall of Famer leaves the team.