In the past two postseasons, the Denver Nuggets have eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers from contention. Despite many of the playoff games being closely contested, the outcomes were decisive. Last year, Denver swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and this year, they defeated them four games to one in the first round.

Aside from Jamal Murray, another Denver player who posed a significant threat to the Lakers is forward Michael Porter Jr. While he maintained an average of 16.7 points per game during the regular season, he notably elevated his performance in the playoffs against LeBron James and his team, averaging 22.8 points per game with shooting percentages of 55.3% from the field and 48.8% from beyond the arc.

The Lakers appear to require additional talent to transition from a playoff team to a genuine championship contender. There has been speculation that they may pursue upgrades in the backcourt, such as Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young.

However, one Eastern Conference general manager suggests a different approach for the Lakers. He proposes that the team should prioritize acquiring Porter during the upcoming offseason.

Via Heavy Sports:

“If they want to get better, that is who they’d go after,” one Eastern Conference GM told Heavy Sports. “They need a gunner who is not afraid to shoot and they’d be much better off if he can be a 3-4 like LeBron, if he is not a size mismatch. A knockdown shooter who creates space, that’s the first step to getting them back to contender status again.”

Although the Lakers maintained a respectable 3-point shooting percentage throughout a significant portion of the season, finishing eighth in accuracy during the regular season, they ranked 28th in the league in terms of 3-point attempts. While it’s not necessary for them to suddenly become a high-volume 3-point shooting team, they do need additional players who can consistently contribute from beyond the arc.

Porter boasts a career 3-point accuracy of 41.0% on an average of 5.9 attempts per game, making him a potential solution to this need. However, it’s worth noting that the 6-foot-10, 25-year-old forward only averaged 10.7 points per game on 37.1% shooting overall and 32.5% from downtown during the Nuggets’ second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

An important consideration is Porter’s hefty salary of nearly $36 million for the upcoming season, which could pose a significant obstacle for the Lakers. Acquiring him via trade would likely leave them with limited assets to pursue upgrades at the guard position.

Furthermore, there may be doubts regarding whether the Nuggets, who have previously shown animosity towards the Lakers, would be willing to engage in trade negotiations with them in good faith.