He can also serve as a secondary ballhandler and playmaker that helps the offense flow. He can handle point-of-attack defensive duties, allowing Westbrook to hide on the worst perimeter scorer. Reaves gets the early nod here, as he was the best wing among this group last season. The player that stands out in training camp and the preseason will be the favorite for the job. The Lakers are looking to start whichever wing/guard can make 3s and defend at the point of attack at the highest level on the roster, according to league sources. It’s a three-headed committee with different skill sets. In this projection, Davis actually plays more center than either of them (he’s at 18 of his 33 minutes at center). Damian Jones, who was better than Bryant last season, doesn’t offer the same long-range gravity, even if he’s more of a lob/vertical threat.īut Bryant and Jones are placeholder starting centers, just as JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard were in the 2019-20 season. That’s a small sample of seasons and low volume (46 of 112), but it at least indicates he has spacing potential. Bryant shot 41.1 percent on two attempts per game from 2019 to 2021. Shooting, especially with the starting group, will be important.Īs a result, if the Lakers want Davis to remain at power forward, Bryant is the only realistic option to start alongside him. The Lakers need to maximize spacing for driving lanes for James and Westbrook, and for Davis to operate in the post and as a roller. If anything, the Lakers’ perimeter group is worse at shooting 3s, on paper. They still persist into Year 2 of the Davis-Westbrook pairing. Davis sliding over to center more - he started 21 of his 40 games there - alleviated some of those concerns. That was largely out of necessity, as the Lakers’ spacing with a traditional center ( DeAndre Jordan or Dwight Howard), Davis and Westbrook was horrific. Last season, Davis bucked the perception that he doesn’t like playing power forward by logging 76 percent of his minutes at center, his highest proportion in Los Angeles and second-highest of his career. James’ minutes actually increased to 37 per game last season, but entering his age-38 season, that figure will have to go down to some degree. Davis has been in that range the past four seasons, though last season he played 35 minutes per night because the other big-man options were so bad. (Swider and Pippen aren’t included as it’s unlikely that either player has a significant role on next season’s roster barring injuries.)īudenholzer typically used a 10-man rotation, with star players rarely playing more than 33 minutes per night. Let’s delve into Version 1.0 of the Lakers’ projected depth chart, rotation and positional battles. If and when moves are made, we’ll update the analysis of the roster. But this is an assessment of the current group. The Lakers’ roster will almost certainly look different than it does now. Of course, one giant caveat applies to any analysis of the current roster: A lot can change between now and opening night. We’ll also dig into some of the key positional battles that will be determined in training camp and the preseason. There are two paths forward for the Lakers: One with Anthony Davis at power forward and one with him at center. Below, we’ll cover both potential depth charts, along with an accompanying rotation. It will depend on the identity that new head coach Darvin Ham wants to implement. Beyond that, there are two spots up for grabs for multiple players. Westbrook is likely to start if he remains with the team. James and Davis are the only starting locks. The Lakers’ depth chart is currently unclear. They also have two players on two-way contracts: Cole Swider and Scotty Pippen Jr. The Lakers have recently preferred the flexibility of leaving a roster spot open in case they want to sign a player out of the G League, for flexibility in trades, and for the January/February buyout market. As things stand, the Lakers have 14 players under contract, which is the likely number they will carry into next season.
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