{"id":111943,"date":"2024-12-13T11:16:18","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T16:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=111943"},"modified":"2024-12-13T11:16:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T16:16:18","slug":"los-angeles-lakers-interested-markelle-fultz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/13\/los-angeles-lakers-interested-markelle-fultz\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Interested in Former No. 1 Draft Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> are 13-11 through 24 games and own the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Though they have a winning record (and would be a Play-In team if the season ended today), their record is a bit disappointing given their desire to compete for a championship this season. LeBron James<\/a> signed a new contract in the offseason. However, he has a player option for the 2025-26 season and could be in the midst of his final NBA campaign. Though it is still a couple of months away, many have speculated that the Lakers will be busy ahead of the trade deadline. So far, they have been linked to many intriguing names like Brandon Ingram<\/a>, Myles Turner<\/a>, and Jonas Valanciunas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another area where the Lakers can look for help is free agency. There are still numerous free agents who deserve to be on an NBA team. And according to ClutchPoint’s Anthony Irwin<\/a>, the Lakers have interest in one player in particular. Per Irwin, the Lakers have had discussions about potentially adding free agent guard Markelle Fultz<\/a>. Irwin notes that adding him is more likely for the Lakers if they move on from Gabe Vincent<\/a> and\/or D’Angelo Russell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Per sources, the Lakers have had internal conversations about Fultz, the former first-overall pick who hasn’t lived up to his draft position but was solid last season playing for the Orlando Magic.”<\/p>\n

“Fultz would step into the role Vincent was playing and could serve as guard depth should the Lakers decide to trade D’Angelo Russell. Standing 6’4\u2033 with legitimate athleticism, Fultz would provide physicality on the perimeter the Lakers have sorely missed defensively. Yes, the shot is still very much a concern, but in the right lineups, it can be made up for.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Los Angeles Lakers Interested in Markelle Fultz<\/h2>\n

What Markelle Futlz Would Bring to the Lakers<\/h3>\n

Fultz was initially drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> with the first pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Unfortunately for him, his 76ers tenure did not go as planned, appearing in just 33 games for the team in two seasons. In 2019, the 76ers traded Fultz to the Orlando Magic<\/a>. With the Magic, the Maryland native revitalized his NBA career. In 158 games across his first four seasons with the team, Fultz averaged 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.3 steals. Last season, however, Fultz had a mediocre season, averaging just 7.8 points and 2.8 assists in 43 games. This has led to some teams not opting to sign him to their roster.<\/p>\n

Regardless, despite not living up to his initial draft hype, Fultz is still a talented NBA player. He became a good defender (which could prove crucial for a Lakers team currently ranked as the fifth-worst defensive team in the NBA). Additionally, Fultz is a good playmaker and is still just 26 years old. The guard has his flaws, particularly his health and lack of perimeter shooting. Still, he has played good basketball in the past and is capable of helping a contending team in any role.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

Currently, no other teams reportedly have interest in Fultz. If the Lakers want to sign him, they will likely be able to do so freely. On paper, Fultz is a solid fit with the Lakers. Additionally, Fultz was briefly teammates with Lakers head coach JJ Redick<\/a> with the 76ers. There is no guarantee Fultz will end up on the Lakers this season. However, given the Lakers’ current situation, bringing him could pay dividends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers are 13-11 through 24 games and own the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Though they have a winning record (and would be a Play-In team if the season ended today), their record is a bit disappointing given their desire to compete for a championship this season. LeBron James signed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4631,"featured_media":111945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,2,26,62,3,4721],"tags":[668],"class_list":["post-111943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-featured","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-markelle-fultz"],"modified_by":"Elie Deglaoui","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111954,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111943\/revisions\/111954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}