The Los Angeles Lakers need some help to have any chance of becoming a championship contender, especially now that Anthony Davis is expected to miss at least a month with a foot injury.
They mostly need help at both forward positions. Their only players there other than Davis and LeBron James are Troy Brown Jr., who has been mostly ineffective this season, Juan Toscano-Anderson, who is currently injured and hasn’t played much, and Wenyen Gabriel, who is a borderline rotation player purely because of energy and effort.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports indicated the Orlando Magic’s Terrence Ross could be a target for L.A. ahead of the trade deadline.
Via Yahoo Sports:
“There are certainly pieces for Orlando to move ahead of this season’s deadline, but the Magic won’t be gaining nearly the return they saw two years before.
“Terrence Ross has long garnered interest from the Los Angeles Lakers, sources said.”
Fischer noted that the price for Ross might be lower than it would’ve been in the past had Orlando moved him then, but that there could still be interest in him this time around.
Ross may be more gettable for the Lakers than some other players they’re reportedly interested in, but it’s hard to imagine him making any real impact. They badly need some 3-point snipers. Ross is shooting a respectable 36.6% from downtown this season, but he shot 29.2% last season and 33.7% the year prior.
In addition, he plays most of his minutes at the off-guard position, where L.A. has solid depth with Lonnie Walker IV and Austin Reaves. At 6-foot-6 and 206 pounds, Ross is somewhat undersized for the small forward position.