Lately, one rumor that has circulated about the Los Angeles Lakers is that if they strike out on Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, they will look to acquire either Buddy Hield or Eric Gordon as a backup plan.
Their negotiations with Brooklyn regarding Irving have seemingly gone nowhere after heating up in the opening days of July.
But according to Lakers beat writer Dave McMenamin, the team has something bigger in mind than getting Hield or Gordon merely as a consolation prize of sorts.
“They have interest in Eric Gordon and Buddy Hield, perhaps in addition to Kyrie and the piece that would have to be moved in order to get that done would be Talen Horton-Tucker,” McMenamin said while on “The Lowe Post,” a podast hosted by Zach Lowe of ESPN. “But, it could also end up being the Plan B if they can’t get this Kyrie situation to come to bear…”
Lakers fans have fixated on Hield ever since the team turned down an opportunity to trade for him last summer to land Russell Westbrook instead.
The 6-foot-4 guard would significantly improve L.A.’s 3-point shooting, an area that needs lots of improvement.
However, Hield’s numbers went down this past season. He shot 36.6 percent from 3-point range, compared to 39.1 percent the year prior.
Gordon has always been an instant offense man throughout his 14 NBA seasons, but his efficiency has fluctuated from season to season.
While he shot an outstanding 41.2 percent from downtown in the 2021-22 campaign, he was at just 32.9 percent the year before.