After spending all the chips last season in exchange for Westbrook, the Lakers did not play the expected performance, or even missed the playoff. After a losing season, the Lakers have a lot to deal with. In addition to finding a new manager and handling Westbrook's contract, how to reach a contract extension with James is a top priority for them in the summer. Although he is 37 years old, James has proved himself to be a top star in the league this season. However, according to well-known journalist Sam Asik, the James team has little interest in reaching an early contract extension with the Lakers this summer. If the Lakers want to reach a contract extension with James, forming a strong team around him is obviously the first step. With few chips and insufficient salary space, the Lakers need to take advantage of the only middle-class exception this summer.
By the end of the season, most of the players in the Lakers' roster have expired their one-year salary contracts. In addition to the Big Three, Nunn, Tucker, Rivers, Johnson and Gabriel will make up the Lakers' core lineup next season. After Westbrook's experiment failed, the Lakers should continue their previous model, hoarding quality shooters around James. Earlier today, the US media "Open Air Stand" exposed the Lakers' latest reinforcement target, he is the Nuggets' Brin Forbes. The 28-year-old Forbes is 188cm tall, weighs 92kg and plays as a defender. Forbes, who entered the league at the age of 23, has a mature style of play, that is, he is excellent and has adapted to the intensity of the NBA in just one season. After three seasons with the Spurs averaging more than 10 points per game, Forbes won the 20-21 NBA championship as a key member of the Bucks.
This season, Forbes has played 40 games for the Spurs and 35 for the Nuggets. He averaged 8.85 points in 17 minutes of playing time per game. Forbes is not good at organizing, averaging just 1.2 assists per game in his career. At the same time, he is not good at defending, and this season his defensive efficiency is only 161st in the league, barely in the middle. And not good at organization and not good at defense, the reason why Forbes, who is less than 1.9 meters tall, has a job in the NBA is his excellent shooting ability. In addition to the rookie season, Forbes has shot more than 38% from the beginning of the 17th season to this season, and the last three seasons have remained above 40%, which is the top of the league. It is worth mentioning that Forbes is not only good at no-ball projection, but also has a fairly good ability to hold the ball and project. This season he averaged 2.5 blocks per game, which is also sixth in the league.
In the 20-21 season, Forbes perfectly played the role of "knife guard" around "Alphabet Brother" Antetokounmpo, which was an important puzzle for the Bucks to win the championship, which made people believe that he could also play the same role around James. With players like Forbes on the court, James' breakthrough will become even more threatening. At the same time, the blocking and dismantling cooperation between Forbes and Anthony Davis is also worth looking forward to. In the past two seasons, the Lakers have suffered from a lack of ability as an outside shooter. If they can bring Back Anthony this summer and bring in Forbes with a middle-class exception, their outside projection levels will peak in recent years. Do fans and friends think Forbes is suitable for the Lakers? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!