As the trade deadline approaches, the Lakers are on the hunt for some kind of roster assistance, as they have a propensity for taking a big lead early, only to squander it during bench minutes before relying on LeBron James and Anthony Davis to come to the rescue in the fourth quarter.
It’s not caused them to stumble in too many games in the regular season, but against playoff competition it’s a concern. It’s why when Darren Collison became a potentially available name earlier this week it raised eyebrows, as they could use a shot creator and spot-up shooter of his pedigree to replace some of the minutes they have to play Rajon Rondo. They also could use some shooting help on the wing, with Kyle Kuzma struggling to find his comfort level in a sixth man role and rumors now swirling about him possible being in trade discussions.
While all of this is going on, the Lakers might just need to do a little scouting in their backyard. On Sunday night, after blowing another big lead in the third quarter to go down 79-75 to the Pistons entering the fourth quarter, Staples Center got a spark from Evan Brooks, a fan who knocked down a $100,000 halfcourt shot, providing the most offense from anyone not named LeBron James, Anthony Davis, or Alex Caruso on the night for the Lakers.
Lakers fan hits halfcourt shot and wins $100K pic.twitter.com/vV2kPbfLcz
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 6, 2020
The form on this halfcourt shot is pretty great, because this isn’t a lucky bank shot. There was some talent on display here as he found nothing but net to earn himself $100,000 from Mandalay Bay. Maybe he can double his money with a 10-day and knock down some shots for the Lakers as they wait to find the right deal on the trade market.
As an aside, it’s always pretty hilarious how much better the halfcourt shot prize is at Lakers games compared to anywhere else, where the prize is usually, at most, $10,000.
