As you know, the Lakers this season have been very disappointing.
After getting Westbrook, Anthony and others in the offseason last year, the outside media and fans are full of expectations for the Lakers, and also regard the Lakers as a favorite to compete for the championship, but after a season, the Lakers have only won a total of 33 victories, let alone the playoffs, and even the playoffs have not been scored, which is extremely rare in history.
To talk about the reason for the Lakers' disappointment, it is too much, from the improper operation of the management, to the unreasonable configuration of the lineup, to injuries, a whole season, the Lakers are full of problems from top to bottom, and finally at the end of the regular season, Vogel became the first to back the pot and directly leave the class.
So disappointment is really disappointment, but there are also some surprises in addition to disappointment, such as Munch.
Last offseason, the Lakers signed Munch with only a basic salary of 1.8 million a year, which was considered a good operation at the time, and finally from the performance of the entire season, Munch did play a level that exceeded his own value.
Throughout the season, Munch played a total of 76 games for the Lakers, from the bench to the starter, averaging 28.1 minutes per game, 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists, all three statistics are career highs, while his three shooting rate also reached 47.3%/39.1%/79.5%, and the true shooting rate reached 59.7%.
For comparison, Munch's data for the hornets' last two years were:
In the 2019-20 season, he averaged 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 53.0% from the field.
- In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 11.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 56.9% from the field.
In the previous two years, Munch was considered to be poorly defended, efficient, and not much room for improvement, so the Hornets did not renew his contract after the rookie contract ended, but after joining the Lakers, Munch unexpectedly grew again, he maintained the previous year's feel, and the defensive end was more active.
In the lakers' final game of the season, James, Thick Brow, Westbrook, Anthony were all absent, Munch handed over a career masterpiece, he played 35 minutes, shooting 14 of 25, 7 of 14 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, and scored a career-high 41 points, including the fourth quarter, Munch scored 18 points in a single quarter.
It is worth mentioning that this season, the Lakers have appeared 5 times 40+, of which 3 times belong to James, 1 time belongs to Horton Tucker, and the other 1 time belongs to Munch - thick eyebrows, Westbrook did not do, Munch did in the last game of the regular season.
The same statistically proves Munch's role this season:
When Munch was on the floor, the Lakers scored 113.2 points per 100 rounds, outperforming their opponents by 0.3 points
Munch is not on the floor, and the Lakers score 103.3 points per 100 possessions, netting 6.5 points against their opponents
The Lakers' cumulative winning percentage this season is -250 points, but Munch's presence is not only not negative, but also reaches +53, ranking second in the team (the first is Reeves's +54).
The Lakers have a lot of things to do in the offseason, one of which is to fight to keep Munch, but keeping Munch is not simple - due to the existence of the Big Three and Tucker, the Lakers' salary has far exceeded the salary cap, even if the transaction is less, it is difficult to make room, and the only one that can keep Munch is the only mini middle class.
At the end-of-season press conference, Munch said of the future: "I like to play here, I like to play in this atmosphere, of course I am willing to come back, I think money is not the most important thing, the most important thing is to make yourself comfortable, to make yourself feel at home." 」 ”
Having said that, Munch added: "Of course, money is also important, I want to make a little more money, I know what I can do on the pitch to make money. "The implication is that if there is a team in the free market this year who is willing to sign Munch for a higher price, maybe Munch will choose to leave."
Munch is only 24 years old after all, he is not a superstar, not even an All-Star, as an ordinary rotation, at this stage of his career, the pursuit of more money and more ball rights is not a mistake, the Lakers naturally want to keep him, but look at the salary, I am afraid it is difficult.