milesfides wrote:You'd be surprised at how little that matters.
Rick Fox's percentages weren't helped by playing next to Kobe and Shaq - and all he had to do was spot up at the three.
Playing with Z and Lebron, you'd think Wally Szczerbiak would shoot lights out. Instead, he shot the worst in his career.
Kyle Korver shot slightly poorer from 3-point range in Utah than he did in Philadelphia (although he got way more interior shots due to their princeton-type offense)
And these are great shooters.
You could even apply the same to McGrady - his percentages went down when he played next to Yao. Playing more on the perimeter didn't help his percentages.
On the championship Heat team in 2006, Antoine Walker did shoot above his career averages (although that still didn't make him a good shooter). On the other hand James Posey shot below his career averages.
Bottom line, you can't tell.
But the general rule is this: good shooters usually shoot well regardless of what kind of team they're on.
Poor shooters shoot poorly, regardless of what kind of team they're on.
Josh Smith isn't a good shooter. It's possible that he'll improve, but it's unlikely. If he does, it'll be the first time in his career - he'll literally have to reinvent himself.
Great post Miles, once again.
However anyone tries to twist it, Josh Smith, albeit one of the most athletic players thus league has ever seen and a great individual player in his own right, just wont workout for this team.
He has many positives he can bring to a team. Thing is, his negatives are exactly the qualities Lakers are looking to improve on.
I wouldve LOVED to get this guy 2-3 years ago, but the current Lakers structure just doesnt call for his services.