Omer Asik (R) will add badly needed rebounding and shotblocking to the Lakers' center position
For weeks now, the Los Angeles Lakers have been shopping 19 year old Cliff Alexander for a starting center to round out their lineup. Their initial inquiry to the Timberwolves for Omer Asik couldn't reach an agreement, but the Turkish national is donning the purple and gold anyway after the Mavericks offered a last minute deal to the Lakers for Alexander and the Knicks 2019 2nd round pick. In doing so, the team suspended long-going talks with the Detroit Pistons that would have sent Alexander and Arturas Gudaitis to the Detroit Pistons for Mitch McGary and matching contracts at Day 60.
While McGary better fits the Lakers' window, with a correctable shot and stellar passing and handling out of the paint, obtaining him would have meant the team needed to make their free agency splash this offseason, before having to match whatever the Michigan alum got out on the market. With Asik in the fold, should he decline his player option, the Lakers will have an extra $2.2 million from their original projected cap space prior to this deal. If he picks it up, the Lakers can go hunting for a big target two summers from now before matching Nik Stauskas' RFA deal. So from a financial standpoint, there are things to be said for consummating either deal.
In terms of the on-court value, Asik is averaging 9.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks, shooting 45.4% from the floor with a 66.7% drive stop rate, 1.3 TOFC and 0.89 PA/SF. In contrast, McGary is posting 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.8 steals, with just 0.3 blocks in 19 minutes a game, shooting 48.6% (52.4% inside). Defensively, it's 26.5% drive stop rate, 1.4 TOFC, and 0.82 PA/SF. But it's digging deeper into the metrics that we perhaps find true measures of their values and what they would mean for the Lakers:
Asik: 47.3% TS, 12.3% TO, 18.5% Rebound, 19.2% USG
McGary: 54% TS, 7% TO, 13.5% Rebound, 19.5% USG
That 5% difference in Rebound Rate is striking, and it's even more compelling when juxtaposed against the rest of the Lakers, and signals just how vast an upgrade the team has made to their post position:
Gudaitis: 44.7% TS, 16.6% TO, 12.4% Rebound, 12.4% USG - 4.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 52.2% DSR, 1.1 TOFC, 1.0 PA/SF (39.5% shooting)
Gobert: 44.4% TS, 24.4% TO, 14.1% Rebound, 9.4% USG - 2.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 60% DSR, 1.2 TOFC, 0.88 PA/SF (40.3% shooting)
While one can make an argument that Gobert perhaps should have received the bulk of the minutes, there's little question that deep examination reveals Asik is a huge, total package upgrade over the split-time centers, and the decision to go with the Turk appears to have been the wisest one, given that McGary's rebound rate and lack of shot blocking doesn't fit well with a team that features at or below 70% DSR wings in DeMar DeRozan, Nik Stauskas, and C.J. Fair.
There's also the matter of the Lakers being a very young team overall, which could explain their completely baffling 3-9 home record to 6-6 away mark. Only Eric Maynor and DeMar DeRozan have more than 5+ years of experience in the league of players receiving meaningful minutes, and only Maynor is 30 or older. Adding a veteran presence like Asik (31, in his 8th season), rather than relying on the young McGary brings more balance to the roster and a second player with extensive playoff experience to the lineup.
Cliff Alexander hopes a fresh start will get him back on the court
After he dazzled everyone in training camp with his boom in development and was handed the starting job for five games, Cliff Alexander failed to capitalize on the opportunity, showing that at 19, he still has a ways to go before his production matches his talent. He struggled to find minutes after unimpressing as a starter, despite last year's good form at center, but with Brook Lopez now out of the picture, and presumably former Laker Walter Tavares promoted to the starting lineup, there will be room for Alexander to return to regular playing time to develop.
Essentially what we see with this deal is an end to the time share at center, and given that Alexander had fallen out of the rotation (designated 0 minutes the last several games), no change to the PF distribution.
PG TJ McConnell
SG Nik Stauskas
SF DeMar DeRozan
PF Giannis Antetokounmpo
CE Omer Asik
Perhaps a good enough starting five to finally push into the postseason, even given the current 2 game deficit.
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035
