In the offseason, whether Russell or Hachimura will be traded away, it is foreseeable that in the new season, the core of the Lakers will still be James and Davis.

The Lakers are in urgent need of a 3D player with three-point shooting ability and excellent defense, and this demand is reflected in two aspects.

First, in terms of shooting. Data shows that in the 23-24 season, Davis's shooting ratios at the basket and near the basket were 36.9% and 30.9%, respectively, while James's two figures were 34.5% and 21.7%, respectively.

More than half of the shots were taken from the inside, and obviously, if there is more offensive space, the efficiency will be improved. Just like Antetokounmpo - 51.9% of his shots came from the basket, and his hit rate was as high as 77.5%, both of which ranked first in the league.

Although Antetokounmpo has outstanding physical fitness, without the threat of the outside line, the effect will be twice the result with half the effort. In fact, when he played with Lopez at the same time, Antetokounmpo's hit rate at the basket could be increased by 2.6 percentage points.

Second, in terms of outside defense. Due to tactical needs, in the 23-24 season, Davis sank more into the interior, while Vanderbilt was absent due to injury, which led to a decline in the quality of the Lakers' perimeter defense - the opponent's three-point shooting percentage was 36.6%, ranking third from the bottom in the league; the opponent's shooting percentage of more than 15 feet was 38.7%, ranking fifth in the league.

In the new season, Davis is likely to continue to play the main center role, and it remains to be seen how Vanderbilt will perform after returning from a long injury. Therefore, the Lakers still need to solve the perimeter defense problem.

By exercising the $2.4 million one-year contract option, Cam Reddish chose to return to the Lakers. For this former 10th overall pick, I think he is the Lakers' 3D player.

First, from the offensive characteristics. In the 23-24 season, Reddish shot a total of 389 times, of which 110 were from outside the three-point line. The 47% shooting ratio shows that he mainly focuses on three-point shooting on the offensive end.

Although his overall three-point shooting percentage is 33.6%, which is relatively average, his three-point shooting percentage quickly climbs to 53.3% when the opponent is more than 6 feet away from the defender. Effective use of open three-pointers is enough for me to be competent. In general, the Lakers' role players only need to convert Davis' passes into points to be qualified.

Secondly, his physical fitness. Reddish's real plus-minus value so far in his career is -0.3, but in the 23-24 season, this value reached 0.8, indicating that his defensive potential still has room for exploration.

Unlike Hachimura Rui, Reddish has better mobility; unlike Vanderbilt, Reddish has stronger confrontation ability. If Christie is against the frontcourt, Reddish is better in terms of physical advantage.

Here are a few examples of confrontation with stars:

Facing Harden, he only made 2 of 47 shots; facing Alexander, he only made 4 of 55 shots; facing Leonard 26 times, the opponent was completely broken. Data shows that Reddish can not only defend guards, but also forwards, whether they are speed players or power players.

In addition to the above two points, we cannot ignore the fact that the contract is about to expire. I think the expiring contract inspires players to fight hard, otherwise their future careers will be a mystery. In other words, expiring contracts often greatly stimulate the potential of players.

In summary, Reddish's joining in the new season is worth looking forward to. If he stays healthy, he is expected to turn opportunities into actual combat effectiveness.