We can’t fault you for potentially overlooking some of the movement that’s taken place in the NBA over the past week. Dozens of acquisitions have occurred, and billions of dollars worth of transactions have gone down. Neon names have requested trades and are still awaiting their fates. It’s a lot to process.
In light of that, we briefly touched on three of the most interesting under-the-radar moves that teams out West have made. It’s the sister piece to one we wrote earlier in the week on moves in the East.
Suns: Yuta Watanabe
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Suns—looking to make Kevin Durant more comfortable after an abrupt, trial-by-fire postseason this past year—brought in Watanabe in part because of how excellent he was alongside Durant in 2022–23.
That isn’t meant to sell Watanabe short. After all, the 28-year-old shot 44% from three and 49% overall, meaning he was a sharpshooter far more often than not. But league data shows that he was even better when playing off Durant, shooting 66.7% (8-for-12) from deep and 66.7% overall (14-for-21) after catching an offering from the longtime superstar. He also shot 51.4% from three when spotting up from the corners, meaning defenses won’t be able to leave him even if Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are on the court and drawing defenders.
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Rockets: Jock Landale
With Fred VanVleet signing to the tune of $43-plus million per season and controversial wing Dillon Brooks joining the club at $20 million a year, Landale is naturally going to fall further down the list of Rockets’ players who get discussed. Yet the 27-year-old center is an interesting gamble, especially with only the first year of his four-year, $32 million deal fully guaranteed.
Landale was productive last season with the Suns, putting up 6.6 points and 4.1 boards in just 14 minutes per night. His motor and nose for the ball often stood out on both ends of the floor. Though the Suns lacked the depth to beat the Nuggets in the second round, Landale played well in the series, logging a positive plus-minus in five of the six games and finishing with a playoff career-best 13 points to go with five boards in the finale. Following the series, he spoke on the challenge of defending Nikola Jokić, explaining at length the nuances involved in trying to stop him. Though he ultimately couldn’t, his insight and attention to detail showcased how serious he is about his craft, something that will benefit a young Houston team that needs more of that.
Lakers: Taurean Prince
If any team learned that depth is often more helpful than abundant stardom, it was the Lakers.
Seemingly the entire world believed the club would be better off without Russell Westbrook, who, for all his effort this past season, was an often-clunky fit with the rest of the team because of his struggles as a jump shooter and the lack of spacing it brought about.
So, in some ways, it wasn’t surprising when the Lakers, after dealing Westbrook, took off. Rob Pelinka addressed a handful of the team’s needs, getting more shooting in D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley and better rebounding and more versatile defense from Jarred Vanderbilt. They were solid fits in a conference-finals rotation that suddenly included much bigger doses of slasher Austin Reaves and newcomer Rui Hachimura, who also played extremely well.
Prince, a 29-year-old, 6’7” wing, seems like another player in that same vein of additions. He isn’t flashy and he’s rarely going to be the player fans leave the arena talking about. But he’s simply solid. He’s good defensively and a reliable three-point shooter—37.2% for his career—on a team that can’t get enough of them. Depth helped Los Angeles win the title in 2020, and it would likely play a huge part in the team doing so in ’24, too, given how this roster is shaping up.
