How should the Lakers build around Luca

How should the Lakers build around Luca? Common sense believes that the two player prototypes are most suitable for adjacent to Di Doncic, and the data also confirms this.

The first is a powerful, basket-running center.

Based on the on/off data calculated by xRAPM, Doncic and Lively ranked third among active players when they were teammates of the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic will do a great job of stealing when he has the option to shoot at the big guy. Since he entered the league, Doncic has ranked second in scores per 100 assists, behind Atlanta Hawks draft pick Trae Young, according to GeniusIQ.

The second type of player is the knockout shooter

According to GeniusIQ, Doncic hits the most corner three-pointers in his career midfield. But the Lakers don't have much lineup. In their expected rotation, Hatchmula, substitutes Jack Laravia and Dalton Knecht are the only players in the past five seasons to shoot above average in corner 3-pointers.

In the coming years, the Lakers may be easier to find shooters than quality two-way big men. Currently, the NBA's shooting percentage is very high, so this set of skills can generally be purchased cheaply. For example, Luke Kennard (ranked fourth in corner three-point shooting percentage in the last five seasons, having tried at least 100 times) signed a $11 million a year contract with the Hawks this summer, Norman Powell (8th) was traded for relatively little returns, while Seth Curry (9th) is still a free agent. If the Lakers want, they may effortlessly get players like Grayson Allen (No. 10) and Sam Hauser (No. 12) in the trade.

Trusted big men are even rarer, and Lakers' new center Deandre Ayton is a good but not perfect combination in the short term. Although he is a reliable partner for Chris Paul with the Phoenix Suns, Ayton is not as vertical as Liverley and his efforts are unstable.

But there are two views on the long-term future of the Lakers center position. First, the Lakers need a high-quality big man to match Don Cic's talent, and adding an All-Star player to this position can be a challenge for Los Angeles. Instead, the second reason is that Doncic is very special, he can turn any marginal runner into a force; after all, when Lively and Doncic start creating magic together, he is just a rookie.

As for James' health, although James is neither a traditional three-point shooter nor a center for running the basket, Doncic demonstrates his ability to work with another ball handler with enough skills. Doncic and Kyrie Irving entered the NBA Finals with the Mavericks, while Doncic and Jaren Brunson entered the Western Conference Finals with Dallas before they even became the superstars of the New York Knicks.source:7M cn Sports