Malik Munch is one of the few surprises for the Lakers in Los Angeles this season, and Munch has been a bright spot in this disappointing season, but because the Lakers' performance this season is so poor, this bright spot can't hide the Lakers' problems, so before the mid-season trade deadline, the Lakers management is still trying to improve the team in any way possible, but given the lakers' limited appeal to trade assets, it seems that all this is just in vain, and everyone is beginning to fall into despair.
And this feeling of despair may lead to the Lakers unexpectedly trade Munch, before we delve into the analysis, Xiaobian wants to emphasize that this is by no means asking for a trade Munch, Munch is a player who Xiaobian liked very much before joining the Lakers, and Xiaobian would like to see him play at least one full season with the Lakers. But having said that, the Lakers have made several worse deals than trading Munch before, and for that reason, if the Lakers are really desperate, one of the few bright spots on the trading team is less shocking.
1 The Lakers didn't use Munch well
This is one of the most disappointing things for the Lakers this season, as far as xiaobian is concerned, he is actually not inclined to the Lakers management to dismiss the employer coach Frank Vogel, at least for the rest of the season, the stability of the team should be maintained, but Vogel's problems in the employment strategy is indeed a point that Xiaobian cannot refute.
Munch has played in nine games with the Lakers' starters this season, and he has performed well in those nine games, averaging 18.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, shooting 50.9% from the field and 50% from three-point range, and while those figures don't last long, Munch has clearly excelled at starting and has built a good chemistry with LeBron James.
However, since those nine games, Munch has been pushed to the bench, Munch has scored more than 20 points in six of his starting nine games, but since being relegated to the bench, he has never scored more than 14 points per game, averaging only 10.3 points per game, and the main reason for Munch's relegation to the bench is that his defense is not good enough, but his replacement is not a top defensive player.
Avery Bradley got The Starting Spot for Munch, a classic example of a player who pretends to be successful on the defensive end, which is not to say that Bradley is pretentious on the defensive end, but he really isn't great on the defensive end and people keep bragging about being a good defensive player. Bradley's defensive rating this season is -0.1 and Munch's defensive rating is -0.7, which is not much of a difference, but if we take the offense into account, then it's clear that Munch is a better player. This has to make the editor doubt the Lakers' view of Munch, if they do not plan to use Munch well, then this may be related to their future plans.
2 Munch is the Lakers' most tradeable player
The Lakers have a player whose name has frequently appeared in major trade rumors this season, that is, Taryn Horton Tucker, but now is not the best time for the Lakers to trade Tucker, especially the Lakers chose to sign him at the expense of letting Alex Caruso go, his performance this season is not good, now is his lowest value, trading him is not wise.
Russell Westbrook didn't have any deal value, and the Lakers even had to take some assets to send him away. In addition, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the Lakers' non-sale, Kendrick Nunn may have been valuable before, but he is currently seriously injured, has not played a game in the whole season, and now he is at the lowest point of value.
Then the Lakers are left with only a few base-paid players, and while people like Dwight Howard may be worth a second-round pick, the only Lakers players who are actually valuable to both competitors and young teams are Munch. We all know that the Pistons rejected the Lakers' first offer against Jeramie Grant, and at the heart of that offer was Horton Tucker and the 2027 first-round pick. If the Lakers really see Grant as the first target, it is very likely that Munch will try to package him at the highest value point.
3 Munch won't be a part of the Lakers' future
That's the hardest thing to accept, whether the Lakers trade Munch this season or not, he won't be back on the team next season. Munch will be a free agent next year and is expected to be scrambled by teams, while the Lakers can only offer a basic salary contract and certainly can't keep him.
In Munch's case, he's unlikely to give up big contracts in favor of a base salary from the Lakers, which usually only happens to veterans who have already made a lot of money in the NBA. In addition, after this season, the Lakers have little chance of winning the championship, so he won't even have a chance to chase the championship ring. So the Lakers didn't offer Munch anything of value at all, and Westbrook's $47 million annual salary limits the space the Lakers can sign Munch. The Lakers can't even send Munch a full middle-class contract because their total salary has exceeded the luxury tax trigger line, so they can only send a taxpayer middle-class contract with an annual salary of $5 million at most, which is certainly not enough to meet Munch's needs, and the two-year exception that the Lakers have is not enough to sign him, so this may be the most critical deciding factor for the Lakers.