What? The Lakers want to trade Vucevic? The question is whether he is suitable for Doncic?

According to the NBA China official website, the Chicago Bulls are interested in trading Nikola Vucevic this summer.

For the Los Angeles Lakers who are looking for centers all over the world, this is indeed a strengthening candidate. Of course, there is also rumors that Pelinka will try to trade this Swiss big man.

The question is whether Vucevic is suitable for Doncic?

24-25 regular season, Vucevic made 1,038 shots and 321 of them came from outside the three-point line, hitting 129 goals and shooting percentage of 40.2%. The 9th out of the 129 big three-pointers hit, Jokic ahead and Aldama behind.

will split the three-pointers:

1, 318 shots were received and 127 goals, with a shooting percentage of 39.9%;

2, 319 shots were made by the defender above 4 feet, with a shooting percentage of 39.8%.

The good side is that it has the ability to grasp fixed points and space at the elite level. The disadvantage is the lack of ability to hold and top three-pointers. Potentially, the shooting restraint is far less than that of Towns and Markkanen, who has strong shooting strength. In the inside offense, he shot 273 times, with a shooting rate of 65.9% and a assisted power of 65.6%. It mainly ends with "eating cakes" but also has certain independent offensive capabilities.

Defensive end, 531 of the opponent's 1,306 shots were less than 6 feet away from the basket, and the opponent's shooting rate dropped from 64.9% to 64.0% in terms of efficiency. Let’s take a look at the performance of protecting the basket against powerful teams such as the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Celtics.

1, against Towns for 26 minutes and 31 seconds, the latter made 13 of 19 shots, with a shooting rate of 68.4%;

2, against Porzingis for 25 minutes and 50 seconds, the latter made 9 of 15 shots, with a shooting rate of 60%;

3, against Jaart Allen for 17 minutes and 03 seconds, the latter made 8 of 13 shots, with a shooting rate of 61.5%.

In other words, not to mention that the top center against Jokic is also worried about Vucevic's ability to protect the basket.

assisted teammates in offense, covering 213 times, ranking 13 in the league; creating 478 points, ranking 17 in the league. For comparison, Sabonis Jr.'s two numbers were 415 times and 931 points respectively. Through comparison, Vucevic's cover ability cannot be said to be top-level or even elite.

To sum up, we can understand Vucevic as:

1. Have a certain shooting ability but mainly ending without the ball, and lack a certain spatial restraint;

2. The ability to protect the basket is worrying or even none;

3. The cover ability is average.

Obviously, I think this characteristic is not suitable for Doncic.

First, since entering the NBA, whether it is the Mavericks or the Lakers, Doncic has never accounted for a pick-and-roll round with the ball and has never been less than 33%. The main ending is to pick-and-roll, which requires the center to have solid cover ability to form a defense replacement.

covers this, as I just said, Vucevic's ability is very average. Taking Hayes as an example, the center does not have solid cover ability, and Doncic's offensive "skills" have been nullified by nearly 30%.

Second, since the Lakers were traded to the Mavericks, the level of the Lakers protecting the basket and intercepting the inside has plummeted. To be honest, it is almost at the bottom of the NBA. The problem is that Vucevic doesn't have a good level of protecting the basket. The potential is that the biggest shortcoming of the Los Angeles Lakers is limited or even said to be none.

Third, Vucevic is already 34 years old. Subtext, it is inevitable to go downhill. From another perspective, the competitive level is getting worse every year.

Looking at these three points alone, the first point is the main factor. As I said, without good screening ability, Doncic's offensive threat has dropped significantly.