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Roy Hibbert: Traded To Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are likely to send swingman Nick Young to the Indiana Pacers in attempt to create cap room in absorbing Roy Hibbert, Yahoo Sports National Basketball Association insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday. He’s rather immature, and looks more like a player playing for his numbers as opposed to a team player.
The Lakers failed to lure LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe, and DeAndre Jordan this offseason and have settled for Hibbert instead.
In seven seasons, he has averaged 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
Indiana is seeking to trade Hibbert after failing to get him to decline his player option for $15.5 million for next season by publicly implying in April he might be benched if he returned.
It would’ve been nice if the Lakers could expect some kind of asset as they could have a year ago versus now, when they have to beg for another team to take their corpses off their hands.
Under the proposed three-way sign-and-trade agreement, the Clippers would receive Hibbert, the Mavericks would get Jordan and the Pacers Monta Ellis, who already agreed to sign with them for four years and $44 million. For Lakers fans, the addition of Hibbert continues a run of mediocre moves that has left any talks of postseason play seeming unlikely.
Even if the offensive production doesn’t return to form, his impact as a rim protector should be a big plus for a Lakers team that was bad defensively last season. This is a low-risk, high-reward type of move because it appears all the Lakers gave up was a second-round draft pick (details are still being finalized on the deal).
“If he comes back, we’re probably going to play another style”, Bird told reporters in April.
His comment, which followed an explanation of how LeBron “stretched me out so much”, amused him, but caught the attention of everyone else for all the wrong reasons. “He’s going to have to earn it”, Bird said, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Will Hibbert help the Lakers contend for a championship?
Hibbert joins a threadbare Lakers frontcourt: Robert Sacre and Tarik Black are the Lakers’ only post players with legitimate National Basketball Association experience.
Hibbert has enjoyed some solid seasons, making the Eastern Conference All-Star team in 2014 and 2012. But the Lakers do need to unload some salary, so accepting Young (or the Mavs’ Felton and his $4 million in the three-way idea) might be the price Indiana has to pay for dumping Hibbert. With Hibbert, the youngsters will have a little more time to develop a defensive acumen and adjust to the pace of the NBA – they won’t be called upon to deliver immediately on that end.
