NBA 2018-19: Analyzing the impact of the Reggie Bullock trade for the LA Lakers

In the last two weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with a lot of drama and turmoil. There was rampant Anthony Davis-to-Lakers hysteria, which never actually happened (perhaps until the off-season) at the trade deadline.

There was also locker-room turmoil and frustration with various players, and a cloud of uncertainty with possible trades to the core players. Then on Tuesday, there was the spectacle of LeBron James sitting on the far end of the bench, with multiple seats separating him from the players, in an embarrassing blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers.

In the midst of this soap opera, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to fill their need for shooting, as well as additional bench depth. Ahead of the trading deadline, the Lakers dealt a promising but slightly inconsistent rookie in swingman Svi Mykhailiuk to the Detroit Pistons, for veteran swingman Reggie Bullock.

A 2021 second-round pick from the Lakers was also sent to the Pistons.

Bullock, 27, provides a versatile wing with good size at 6-7, and an ability to score, shoot the 3 and play defense. He is similar in a lot of ways to another former Pistons swingman on the roster, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

After languishing on the bench his first few seasons with the Clippers, Suns, and initially the Pistons, he found his footing, eventually becoming their starting shooting guard. This season, Bullock has averaged 12.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Pistons, starting all 44 games he has played in.

This trade could be an important one for a Lakers team fighting for their playoff lives in the brutally deep Western Conference. There is seemingly an opening for the 8th seed, with the Los Angeles Clippers’ trade of their leading scorer Tobias Harris to the 76ers, along with the imposing and intriguing center Boban Marjanovic, and combo forward Mike Scott.

Avery Bradley, Milos Teodosic and Marcin Gortat also departed from the Clippers in separate transactions. However, the Sacramento Kings now figure to be a significant factor in the race, with the addition of forward Harrison Barnes to their promising young core.

The Lakers have been rumored to have an interest in Bullock for a while.

The Lakers are filled with established and capable scorers on the wing, with most obviously, LeBron James, along with Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Lance Stephenson and Josh Hart. However, none are consistently elite shooters. Even Kuz, who was widely regarded as their best shooter, has dipped from 36.6% in his rookie season to 31.1%.

The Lakers have been looking for a “three-and-D” player for a while, with rumors about players such as former Laker Trevor Ariza. And Bullock has been mentioned in trade rumors for a few weeks now.

Bullock shoots 38.8% from 3-pt range. By comparison, the Lakers are 27th out of 30 teams in the league in 3-point percentage, at 33.9%. Their leaders in percentage are Rajon Rondo, at 41.7%, followed by Lance Stephenson, at 39.5%.

The Lakers have made acquiring shooting a priority with the addition of Bullock, as well as stretch forward/center Mike Muscala from the Clippers.

Bullock is poised to make his debut with the Lakers on Sunday. He will play in a pivotal road game against the Philadelphia 76ers, who are newly revamped with a blockbuster deal for Tobias Harris, who will join a formidable starting lineup of Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons and JJ Redick.