The Los Angeles Lakers are close to reaching an agreement on a trade that would bring Roy Hibbert to the West Coast, potentially giving the marquee franchise their biggest splash of the offseason.
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Los Angeles and the Indiana Pacers are still working out what will be exchanged for the centre, but Hibbert’s $15.5 million salary for the final season of his contract can be absorbed by the Lakers and the deal should become official when the league’s moratorium period ends on July 8, according to ESPN.
The move for Hibbert comes after Los Angeles struck out in free agency in their pursuit of star big men LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Kevin Love.
The free agent class could have impacted Los Angeles’ decision in last month’s NBA draft, when they selected point guard D’Angelo Russell with the second overall pick, passing on centre Jahlil Okafor.
Indiana, meanwhile, were hoping Hibbert would decline his $15.5m player option for the coming season after his inconsistent play this past year caused him to fall out of favour in the organisation.
No big fish but Lakers quietly have had a nice off-season: D’Angelo Russell, Lou Williams, Brandon Bass, Roy Hibbert
— Chris Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) July 6, 2015
After choosing to opt in, the 28-year-old became a trade target and even more so after the Pacers selected big man prospect Myles Turner with the 11th overall pick in the draft.
It’s only a year since Hibbert made his second All-Star appearance and being named to the All-Defensive Second Team. He’s spent his entire seven years as a pro in Indiana, averaging 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.9 minutes for his career.
But is coming off his lowest-scoring campaign since his rookie year, scoring 10.6 points per game.
While Hibbert’s offence isn’t on par with the premier names the Lakers were chasing, his presence in the paint on the other end of the floor provides a much-needed def-ensive anchor, which should help improve on the 105.3 points Los Angeles allowed last season – ranking second-to-last in the league.
