Free agent profile: Marquis Daniels

This is the 21st post in a series focusing on this year’s free-agent class.

Player: Marquis Daniels

Former team: Boston Celtics

Type of free agent: Unrestricted

Positives: The swingman helped Boston become a defensively disciplined team during his three-year tenure there. the giving up only .775 points per play (81st percentile, according to Synergy Sports Technology). Given Mike Brown’s hope that the Lakers remain a fundamentally sound defensive team, Daniels would become the perfect fit. As a backup shooting guard, he could help relieve Kobe Bryant’s responsibilities both in minutes played and on defensive assignments. Published accounts say Daniels provides a positive locker-room presence. And when he has the ball, Daniels shows explosiveness when attacking the rim (shooting 56.3%).

Negatives: Daniels is only a season removed from spinal surgery, and the operation appeared to exacerbate his declining numbers the last few seasons. It’s plausible that Daniels might not improve from the career-low 3.2 points on 36.4% he posted last season with Boston. His play often appeared so erratic that Celtics Coach Doc Rivers played him in only 38 games. Even if Daniels’ defense is a plus, his poor shooting percentage and movement on offense could make the move a bad one.

Verdict: Considering he earned a relatively low $1.2 million last season, it’s pretty realistic for the Lakers to pursue him. Since the Lakers are hoping to avoid using their $3 million mid-level exception, this scenario would prove a good fit. The Lakers shouldn’t expect him to provide much offensively, but he’s still capable of helping the Lakers’ defense while helping keep Bryant’s minutes down.

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