Iman Shumpert, the New York Knicks guard is currently on the market and it is an open secret. The Lakers have added their names to the list of teams which were interested.
Chris Broussard believes that the Lakers called New York to do their “due diligence” on the player and that no contracts would be signed in the future.
It is easy to believe that Shumpert would not contribute to the Laker’s form at point guard. It should be remembered that Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar are currently injured and Kobe Bryant is covering all of their duties.
In fact, Shumpert has played point guard before for Mike D’Antoni, the current Lakers head coach. He played in the position in the 2011-12 season and there results were disappointing.
According to statistics, Shumpert’s efficiency rating of 9.0 as point guard is way below the average of 15.0. However, D’Antoni still believes that he would be the right man for the job.
Per Berman said, “Iman has all the qualities to become a successful NBA guard and a good athlete. With great body intelligence, confidence and ambition, he should succeed in the near future. He was a great defender and would only get better with experience.”
Shumpert has been a strange player for the Laker’s future. It seems like they would do well with a true point guard at the present and a player who can ease off the pressure from Bryant.