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Getty Kent Bazemore #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers reports for a preseason basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The 2022 NBA shopping market has moved at a leisurely pace. However, things could start to pick up quickly in the next 24 hours, as the deadline for players to finalize purchases with their current team and still maintain playoff eligibility is March 1.
Of course, most buyout candidates are not going to single-handedly hasten a club’s title hopes. Still, there are a handful of veteran players who could help add momentum to a playoff roster in a limited role. One of those players is 10-year pro Kent Bazemore. The former undrafted forward has long been rumored to be on the chopping block in Los Angeles, with The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Bill Oram reporting on February 8 that the Lakers were looking to offload the forward’s contract via a trade/purchase scenario.
As we all know, Los Angeles missed the trade deadline. Which, in turn, makes negotiating a buyout with Bazemore even more realistic and, according to Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, a likely outcome.
“Assuming teams chalk this up to a slow start (he’s still not past 500 minutes) and think it’s likely (if not imminent) that he’ll be back on form, then he should generate a decent amount of interest if he does make it.” . the market,” wrote Buckley, who predicts the two sides will negotiate a buyout. “The Lakers, of course, stuck to their guns at the deadline, so they might be even more inclined to cut someone to get roster flexibility for other buy options.”
Celtics among ‘best landing spots’ for Bazemore
As for where Bazemore might ultimately resurface, if Buckley’s prediction proves true, the B/R columnist named the Boston Celtics among a trio of “best landing spots” for the former Old Dominion standout: the Sixers. and the Warriors are the other two.
“Bazemore hasn’t fit in with Hollywood for some reason, but he could start working somewhere else. That should be enough of an incentive for him to push for a trade, and if the Lakers think his roster spot would be better filled by someone else, they should go along with the idea,” Buckley noted.
The Bazemore Fit in Boston
Bazemore, 32, has seen his 3-point shooting percentage drop from an outstanding 40.8% last season with the Warriors to 35.8% in 33 games with the Lakers in 2021-22. Still, he has connected at least 38.4% of his shots from beyond the arc in two of the last three seasons. His field goal percentage has taken an even bigger hit, shooting 33.6%, the worst of his career. However, it could be argued that his limited use and lack of opportunities to get into a rhythm has negatively affected his conversion rate: His 14.1 minutes per game this year is the fewest for Bazemore since 2013.
The C’s are coming off an upset loss to the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 27, where they shot just 27.9% from 3-point shooting as a team. In 63 games, only nine NBA teams have shot worse than Boston’s 34.4% 3-point percentage this season. Brad Stevens and Ime Udoka have not been shy in recent weeks in their desire to add/bolster the team’s shooting prowess. Adding a player with Bazemore’s track record could certainly be a step in the right direction.
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