Potential trade of Rui Hachimura, what can Herbert Jones bring to the Lakers?

So far from the 25-26 season, Rui Hachimura has accounted for 16.6% of field goals and 56.3% of field goals. Ayton’s two values ​​are 17.9% and 50% respectively.

In addition to the mid-range, Doncic averaged 34.6 points per game, Reeves averaged 28.1 points, coupled with Ayton's 16.5 points per game and James' return from injury, it can be said that the Lakers are already in an overflow state on the offensive end. Based on this, Rui Hachimura's importance on the offensive end is greatly reduced if Ayton can fill the mid-range shot. According to reports, some media suggested that Pelinka use Hachimura as the main body to trade the Pelicans' Herbert Jones.

Hachimura is the main player in trading Jones. Is it possible to achieve it?

I think there are still some.

First, the Pelicans have 2 wins and 14 losses so far this season, ranking last in the Western Conference.

Second, Jones’ averages of 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season have dropped significantly compared to last season. More importantly, he still has a five-year contract with an average salary of nearly US$20 million.

In other words, under the premise that the Pelicans are rebuilding, the Lakers can provide expiring contracts such as Hachimura and Kleber, and expiring contracts are very attractive to the rebuilding team.

If the deal is completed, what can Herbert Jones bring to the Lakers?

I think there are several points.

First, three points. Jones has taken a total of 1,978 shots so far in his NBA career, 750 of which came from beyond the three-point line. The 37.9% shot ratio shows that three-pointers are the main finishing method. Although the three-point rate of 36.5% is relatively average, the three-point rate when the defender is more than 4 feet away is as high as 39.3%.

Speaking of which, here comes something interesting.

Unlike the Thunder, Knicks, Cavaliers and other championship teams, the Lakers have two top "playmakers" in Doncic and James. Reeves's linking ability has also made great progress this season. In other words, "Dong Zhanli" can effectively create open three-point opportunities for Jones, and the latter can effectively grasp it as just mentioned.

Second, defense. Jones has played a total of 7,739 minutes in his career so far, of which 32% have played at the third position and 66% have played at the fourth position. In other words, he is a forward swingman with McDaniels of the Timberwolves and Amen Thompson of the Rockets.

More importantly, his defensive real plus-minus in each of the five seasons since he entered the NBA in 2021 has been positive. In the end, his career average defensive real plus-minus per game was 1.3.

Speaking of Jones' defense, he can not only chase down speedy defenders like Trae Young, but also lead and defend powerful defenders and forwards like Harden and Tatum with certain confrontation capabilities.

Overall, Herbert Jones has a "3D" sense of sight, which is undoubtedly what the Lakers need very much at this stage, especially this defense. One more thing, Vanderbilt's defense is pretty good, but the offense is too "hip-stretching".

Speaking of this, it needs to be noted that although Jones' performance has been average so far this season, I think this has a lot to do with the Pelicans' overall lack of immediate combat effectiveness. To put it bluntly, losing for a long time has caused players to lose motivation. This is just like Ayton in the Trail Blazers last season - when the team's record was poor, it itself also deteriorated. In the Lakers this season, although the team's record is good, Ayton is also efficient at the No. 1 pick level.

Finally, trading Hachimura and others for Jones will definitely significantly improve the Lakers' immediate combat effectiveness. Now it depends on Pelinka's ability to trade for the latter.