As the Los Angeles Lakers look to improve their roster next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James, Sam Hauser could be a very intriguing trade target, but the Boston Celtics shouldn’t let that happen. ESPN detailed the idea when looking at potential options for LA:
“It likely will be easier for the Lakers to find shooters than quality two-way big men in the years to come,” ESPN wrote. “The current supply of shooting in the NBA is so great that the skill set is generally available for cheap. For instance, Luke Kennard (fourth in corner 3-point percentage over the past five seasons, minimum 100 attempts) signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the Hawks this summer, Norman Powell (eighth) was traded for a light return and Seth Curry (ninth) is still a free agent.
“The Lakers probably could acquire players such as Grayson Allen (10th) and Sam Hauser (12th) in trades without too much fuss if they wanted.”
Trading Sam Hauser would be Celtics disaster
Trading with the Lakers is one thing. They already have Marcus Smart on the roster, and when a rivalry runs as deep as Lakers-Celtics, direct moves between the two sides can be hard to come by.
But trading Hauser in general is another. Though the Celtics could bet on the Lakers’ downfall by trading Hauser for some of LA’s future picks, trading their three-point marksmen should not be in their future plans—no matter the team.
Hauser is one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA. He has shot 40% or better from beyond the three-point arc every season of his career. He did it all throughout college, and in high school, too. He’s never shot below that mark from outside.
Yet, Hauser’s three-point shooting runs deeper than that. Last season, only 19 players in the league shot at least 40% from deep on at least 5.0 attempts per game (min. 50 games played). Hauser was one of them.
The year before (2023-24), only 20 players hit those marks. Hauser was one of them once again. But that’s not where it ends. Of those two groups, only six players overlapped: Hauser, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Norman Powell, Malik Beasley, and Grayson Allen.
That puts Hauser in an elite group of shooters.
In 2022-23, Hauser failed to attempt at least 5.0 threes per game, but even if you dip that number to 4.0 (since he got up 4.2 and still shot 41.8%), none of the other five players fall into the category.
Hauser isn’t just one of the best shooters in the NBA: He has a case for being the best.
For the Celtics, a team with massive contracts leading the way and a head coach who employs a three-point-heavy style of offense, Hauser is a dream. Not only is he (maybe) the best shooter in the NBA, but he’s on an absolute steal of a contract.
Trading Hauser would be a massive mistake, and trading him to the Lakers would be even worse.