August 03, (THEWILL) – The free-agent negotiating swung the way of the Los Angeles Lakers with veteran wing Kent Bazemore deciding to move to the Lakers team after agreeing to a one-year contract. Reports had it that Golden State Warriors offered Bazemore more money to keep him in San Francisco but a better shot at the title made the 32-year-old pick Lakers.
Bazemore’s belief that he had a bigger role to play in LA with the Lakers, who have been busy in the free agent negotiating period, and the single year contract negotiated, all bore signs of the business model that the Lakers have adopted to get their targeted players in.
They have already agreed to other one-year contracts with returnee players like Miami Heat’s Trevor Ariza and Philadelphia 76ers’ Dwight Howard, and added Detroit Pistons’ Wayne Ellington for the same term alone.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ General Manager has been behind the quick work aimed at addressing the depth the team lost after trading Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell to the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook last week.
In bringing in Bazemore, they are acquiring a player that made 67 appearances for the Warriors in 2020/2021, while averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds every 19.9 minutes. He also shot 44.9 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from beyond the arc in his time with Golden State.
Ironically, one of his best games was in a loss to the Washington Wizards 118-114 on April 21, this year. He finished just a one point away from getting a double-double, with 19 points, nine rebounds, six steals and three assists in all.
While Bazemore is a 35.6 percent three-point shooter, as he has done throughout his career, he got up to 39.4 percent in the 2017/2018 season while playing with the Atlanta Hawks before reaching a personal-best 40.8 percent clip with Golden State in the last campaign.
His statistics from NBA.com data reveal that he hit 42.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes, which is a valuable skill for somebody who plays off the ball as a shooting guard and small forward. The 6’4″ swingman also held opponents to 33.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 34.3 percent on shots from more than 15 feet.
Bazeman claims to have become so good at defense as, according to him, that was “all I’ve known, pretty much, growing up” while adding how he had watched defensive stoppers such as Gary Payton, Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier and Tony Allen to mold his game. It is this mold that he intends to bring to the table at the Lakers.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
