Lakerholics

The new and improved version of the Los Angeles Lakers start training camp with 6 players potentially competing for the 2 remaining starting positions alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves.

Gabe Vincent with his superior defense and better playoff performance should win the Lakers’ starting point guard job over lame duck D’Angelo Russell, who will almost certainly be moved before the trade deadline. Unless Reaves fails his early season audition to become the team’s next starting point guard, there’s no way the Lakers go into the playoffs next June with Dlo at point. Lakers will finish season with new point guard.

That leaves Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Christian Wood as the 4 players who’ll be competing to be the Lakers’ fifth starter next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Gabe Vincent.
Each potential fifth starter has their strengths. Vanderbilt would give the Lakers their best defensive lineup, Wood their best offensive lineup, Hayes their biggest front court, and Hachimura their most versatile fivesome.

Looming over the intense competition to start is newly extended superstar Anthony Davis’ continued preference to play power forward and renewed request not to play as many minutes at center this season as the last two. While Anthony Davis wants to play the four, LeBron James likely needs to play the four, which is why the Lakers are also considering two starting lineups where James plays the four and two where Davis plays the four.

There’s also competition within the competition as Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura fight to be the starting small forward while Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood battle to win the starting and backup center jobs. Training camp and preseason will ultimately determine whether the Lakers open the season with a traditional starting lineup with Vanderbilt or Hachimura or a two-bigs starting lineup with Hayes or Wood at the five.

While the Lakers are likely to start the season with either Vanderbilt or Hachimura as the fifth starter, there will be constant pressure during the season to give Hayes and/or Wood their inevitable opportunity to start.
It’s entirely possible that we will see a progression where the Lakers start the season with Vanderbilt as the fifth starter, then change to Hachimura, then change to Hayes, and finally ending with Wood as the fifth starter.

So let’s take a deeper dive into the pros and cons of the four possible championship-caliber Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineups featuring Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, or Christian Wood.

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1. The ‘Jarred Vanderbilt’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Jarred Vanderbilt’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, Vanderbilt, James, and Davis should be the Lakers’ strongest defensive lineup as it includes the best defender at every one of the five positions on the team.

Gabe Vincent at point guard, Austin Reaves at shooting guard, Jarred Vanderbilt at small forward, LeBron James at power forward, and Anthony Davis at center are each the best defender on the team at their position. Darvin Ham is a defense first coach so it’s not a stretch to imagine him deciding to start his best defensive team and to give Jarred Vanderbilt the opportunity to improve his offense performance and remain a starter.

Vanderbilt was a major factor in the Lakers post trade deadline finish to make the playoffs and was rewarded with a 4-year $48 million extension despite struggling to stay on the court in the playoffs due to his offense. The Lakers had Vando working 1–on-1 with Phil Handy all summer to improve his 3-point shot and back-to-the-basket game. He apparently has also grown taller over the last summer and now claims to be 6′ 11.”

How the additional height affects his game offensively and defensively will be one of the top stories in camp. If Vando can raise his 3-point shooting from 30% to 36%, he could easily lock up the starting small forward job.
The Lakers and Vanderbilt were smart to wait to sign the extension so he would not be eligible to be traded until next summer. That gives Vando and the Lakers more time for him to work on his offense and overall game.

Having said that, if the Lakers do give Vanderbilt an opportunity to start, he’ll likely also be on a short leash because they have three other possible championship-caliber starting lineups to whom they could quickly turn.

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2. The ‘Rui Hachimura’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Rui Hachimura’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis is the favorite to start the season as it gives the Lakers needed size and shooting but also allows LeBron to play power forward.

After showing he was capable of banging bodies with Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Finals, Hachimura has worked hard on slimming down in anticipation of playing more small forward the coming season.
At 6′ 8″ with a 7′ 2″ wingspan, Rui has the versatility to play down or up a position. In the playoffs, he showed he could play up and bang bodies with a five as well as play down and guard smaller and quicker wing threes.

Critically, Rui playing the three allows LeBron to play power forward, which is the position he is best suited to defend at this point in his career. The last thing the Lakers want is LeBron chasing wings around screens. Starting Hachimura is also a more versatile and innovative way for the Lakers to play two-bigs. While Rui’s best as a four, he can play down to three or up to five. Rui, LeBron, and Anthony can three, four, or five.

The big question is which Rui Hachimura will the Lakers see this season? Will it be the player they traded for who had an excellent finish to the regular season or the player emerged as a potential star in the playoffs?
The answer is probably somewhere in the middle but with untapped upside as Darvin Ham, Phil Handy, and this young Lakers’ coaching staff seems to have a talent for figuring out how to grow and develop young players.

Right now, Rui Hachimura is the poster child for the great success the Lakers’ young coaching staff has had in turning around project players. If Rui gets a chance to start, he could easily turn it into his permanent job.

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3. The ‘Jaxson Hayes’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Jaxson Hayes’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, James, Davis, and Hayes would give the Lakers’ their biggest front court with Haves at the five and Davis at the four but would require James to play and defend the three.

While it’s easier for the Lakers to start Vanderbilt or Hachimura, players from last season’s team who could allow James to not have to play the three, pressure will ultimately grow to start two bigs so Davis can play the four. Before they even had an opportunity to sign Christian Wood, the Lakers had penciled in Jaxson Hayes as the likely starting center in a two-bigs lineup that allowed Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward.

There’s a good argument that Jaxson Hayes is the better candidate to start next to Anthony Davis in a Lakers’ two-bigs lineup than Christian Wood because Darvin Ham would prefer his defense over the latter’s offense.
Just as Christian Wood is insurance against Anthony Davis getting injured, he’s also better suited to be AD’s backup than Jaxson Hayes, who does not have the offensive chops to score at all three levels like Wood can do.

Jaxson Hayes is viewed by the Lakers as a traditional defensive oriented center like Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee, which essentially makes him the perfect candidate to fill the same regular season role they each filled. Late last season, the Lakers suddenly saw a sea change in how the team performs when one of their superstars rests. For the first time, they lost the minutes Anthony Davis rested but not the minutes LeBron James rested.

Starting Jaxson Hayes would not only allow Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward position but also allow Christian Wood to come off the bench and give the Lakers an able replacement when AD rests.

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4. The ‘Christian Wood’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Christian Wood’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, James, Davis, and Wood should be the Lakers’ strongest offensive lineup as it includes the best shooters and scorers at every one of the five positions on the team.

Ultimately, this could be the Lakers most dangerous starting lineup as it would boast both dominating size with a Wood, Davis, and James front court and high volume 3-point shooting with Vincent, Reaves, and Wood. While Wood is the perfect backup for Davis, there’s also a good argument his greatest value could be playing alongside Anthony Davis because of his ability to complement him by spacing the court to free him to attack.

Christian Wood at the five and Anthony Davis at the four would give the Lakers one of the most versatile and dangerous front court duos in the league with two players who can both score and defend at all three levels. Wood will have to prove he can pay attention to defense and become a team-first player who fits the Lakers culture and personality. Once he does that and earns Ham’s trust, he will quickly become the Lakers fifth starter.

Wood is in many ways the perfect fit to play both with and without Davis. Since the Lakers signed him to a 1+1 contract with a second year player option, the the NT MLE would be their only chance at re-signing him. There may come a time this season when the Lakers will regret not trading Jalen Hood-Schifino or Maxwell Lewis to the Mavericks for Christian Wood just so they would have gotten his Bird rights so they could re-sign him.

While it may take time for him to become acclimated to playing defense, a ‘Christian Wood’ starting lineup with Wood and Davis as the two stud bigs should ultimately become the Lakers’ preferred fivesome to start games.

Heading into camp as one of a half dozen teams with a good shot to win this season’s NBA championship, the Lakers are perfectly positioned for one last big trade at the deadline to make them championship favorites.

With one of the deepest and most diverse rosters in the league, the Los Angeles Lakers may not need to pull off a big midseason trade to compete for a championship if most of their offseason moves work out positively.
But that doesn’t mean the Lakers won’t be aggressive and try to make one last mega trade if they sense an opportunity to dramatically upgrade their starters and become the odds-on favorites to win their 18th championship.

For all intents and purposes, Rob Pelinka has committed the Lakers to surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis with a deep and diverse roster rather than using their salary cap to pay a third max superstar.
That means the Lakers will not be looking to trade for a third superstar during the season. Instead, they will be looking to trade Russell and maybe Hachimura for two better starters or just Russell for one better starter.

As it’s impossible to predict what the actual market value at the trade deadline will be for the players included in trades proposed in this article, I’ve not included any draft compensation in the actual trade proposals.
The max the Lakers could reasonably offer as draft compensation would be their 2029 first round pick, protected or unprotected, plus first round pick swaps for 2028 and 2030, which is essentially the equivalent of three picks.

The draft compensation the Lakers would have to offer in the proposed trades would obviously depend on how the players being traded performed up until the trade. One major factor will be how well Rui Hachimura plays.
If Rui starts and plays very well, the Lakers would then likely limit any trade to include just D’Angelo Russell and draft capital, hoping to swap that package for one of Turner, Hield, Anunoby, Trent, Isaac or Harris.

Here are the three proposed midseason trades Rob Pelinka could pursue after January 15, 2024 and before the trade deadline to elevate the Los Angeles Lakers to be the favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship.

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1. Myles Turner and Buddy Hield

The first midseason trade proposal involves the Lakers sending D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince, and draft capital to the Indiana Pacers for veteran center Myles Turner and shooting guard Buddy Hield.

That would give the Lakers a dramatically upgraded starting lineup of Reaves, Hield, James, Davis, and Turner backed up by Vincent, Christie, Reddish, Vanderbilt,and Wood. That’s an NBA championship roster.

The Lakers have long coveted Turner and Hield and there should be no question that adding them to Los Angeles’ starting lineup would make the Lakers the odd-on favorites to win their 18th NBA championship.

Myles Turner has long been seen as the perfect center to enable Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward positions. His 2.0 blocks and steals per game shines as does his 37.2% shooting on 4.0 3’s per game. Buddy Hield’s 42.5% 3-point shooting on 8.5 attempts per game is the high volume, high percentage long range shooter James and Davis desperately needed to create more spacing and open up driving lanes to attack the rim.

The key to the Lakers pulling off this trade will likely be the draft capital included. The Pacers would probably ask for the Lakers 2029 pick with minimal protection and first round pick swaps for 2028 and 2030.

Here are some video highlights from Myles Turner and Buddy Hield from last season. They both provide the Lakers with enhanced shooting, size, and defense to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

What’s always prevented the Lakers from reaching agreement on a Turner and Hield trade was never the fit of either player next to LeBron and AD. It was always whether the rest of the roster was good enough to win it all.

That, in a nutshell, is why Myles Turner and Buddy Hield are the perfect targets for one last big trade to elevate the Los Angeles Lakers from just championship contender to favorites to win their 18th NBA championship.
Turner and Hield’s 3-point shooting gives the Lakers’ offense the needed spacing while Turner’s rim protection elevates the defense to an entirely new level and allows Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward.

Pulling the trigger on a Myles Turner and Buddy Hield trade should be the Los Angeles Lakers’ top priority at this season’s trade deadline. Myles and Buddy are perfect fits to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

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2. OG. Anunoby and Gary Trent, Jr.

The second midseason trade proposal involves the Lakers sending D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince, and draft capital to the Toronto Raptors for veteran wing O.G. Anunoby and shooting guard Gary Trent, Jr.

That would give the Lakers a dramatically upgraded starting lineup of Reaves, Trent, Anunoby, James, and Davis backed up by Vincent, Christie, Reddish, Vanderbilt,and Wood. That too is an NBA championship roster.

The Lakers have long coveted Anunoby and Trent, Jr. and there should be no question that adding them to Los Angeles’ starting lineup would make the Lakers the odd-on favorites to win their 18th NBA championship.

O.G. Anunoby has long been viewed as the bigger 3&D wing the Lakers desperately need to guard the bigger shooting guards and small forwards in the West. Besides 2.6 stocks per game, he shot 38.7% on 5.5 3’s per game.
Trent Jr. is also a perfect fit on the Lakers as he is an excellent defender and shot 36.9% on 6.8 threes per game. Together, Anunoby and Trent, Jr. could transform the Lakers into a top-10 3-point shooting team in the league.

The key to the Lakers pulling off this trade will again be the draft capital included. The Raptors would probably ask for the Lakers 2029 pick with minimal protection and first round pick swaps for 2028 and 2030.

Here are some video highlights from O.G. Anunoby and Gary Trent, Jr. from last season. Both are excellent defenders as well as dead eye 3-point shooters who will improve the Lakers at both ends of the court.

https://youtu.be/Czan88sqvLA

One the positives of trading for Anunoby and Trent, Jr. is that Anunoby, as an elite 3&D small forward, allows LeBron James to play power forward instead of small forward, where he would have to defend quicker wings.

The Lakers problem is what do you do when Anthony Davis wants to play power forward but LeBron James needs to play power forward? Having an all-star starting 3&D small forward like Anunoby simplifies everything. Davis can start and close games at center but play power forward half the time as the Lakers finally have multiple other players who can play center including Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood as well as Rui Hachimura.

Pulling off a mega trade for Anunoby and Trent, Jr. should be the Lakers second highest priority in a midseason trade. O.G. and Gary would give the Lakers’ starting lineup a needed boost in 3-point shooting and defense.

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3. Jonathan Isaac and Gary Harris

The third midseason trade proposal involves the Lakers sending D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and draft capital to the Orlando Magic for now healthy power forward Jonathan Isaac and shooting guard Gary Harris.

Adding Isaac and Harris to the Lakers starting lineup doesn’t have the immediate satisfaction of fit as adding Turner and Hield or Anunoby and Trent, Jr. do because of Jonathan’s last three injury-riddled seasons.

Isaac gave the NBA an 11-game preview of what looks like a star. If he can stay healthy, the 25-year old Isaac could give the Lakers either a long-term version of Christian Wood or younger, cheaper version of Anthony Davis. While the 29-year old Harris only played 48 games last year, he enjoyed the best 3-point shooting season of his 10 year career, making 2.0 out of 4.5 threes attempted per game for 43.1% while also playing solid defense.

Unlike the trades with the Pacers and Raptors, the Lakers may not have to include a first round pick to go with Dlo’s expiring contract and Rui’s 4-year deal. They may be able to get by with a pair of seconds as draft capital.

Here are some video highlights from Jonathan Isaac and Gary Harris from last season. Both are excellent defenders as well as dead eye 3-point shooters who will improve the Lakers at both ends of the court.

While trading for him would be a huge gamble, a healthy Jonathan Isaac would unquestionably be the single best player of the six players whom the Lakers would receive in any of the three trades discussed in this article.

The Lakers would certainly want their own physician’s to review Isaac’s medical records and exam him personally, but the opportunity to acquire him without giving up much in the form of draft capital is intoxicating. Make no mistake that health is the only issue here because a healthy Isaac could actually be better than Turner, Hield, Anunoby, Trent, Jr., or Harris. He’s the one out of the six who has real star potential if he can stay healthy.

If they can’t trade with the Pacers or Raptors, the Lakers should consider trading for Jonathan Isaac and Gary Harris. A healthy Isaac would be great insurance for Anthony Davis and possible replacement for LeBron James.

After disastrously trading for Russell Westbrook, Rob Pelinka’s pulled off a dramatic comeback by prioritizing fit, upside, tradability, and continuity to transform the Lakers from a lottery team to a championship contender.

The problem that’s haunted the Lakers the last three years was not that Pelinka didn’t know what the right moves to make were. He just didn’t have the will and resolve to stick to his principles. The last six months, he has. Every move Rob’s made from the last trade deadline through this offseason has been about putting together a deep and diverse roster with players who meet his four guiding principles of fit, upside, tradability, and continuity.

When you’re general manager of the Lakers, the pressure is intense not only to hit a homerun every time up but to hit a game-winning, grand-slam homerun. We saw how that worked when we traded for Russell Westbrook. Since then, however, Rob has been impressively patient and consistent. While there’ve been disappointments like Beasley’s inability to fit and Dlo’s and Vando’s playoff vulnerability, Rob’s essentially hit a grand-slam homer.

Pelinka’s grand makeover not only has elevated the Lakers to being one of the top six favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship but also positioned them perfectly with a plethora of coveted players on tradable contracts. Pelinka may have some tough decisions to make come the trade deadline. Unless expectations are not met, the Lakers are more likely again to make moves to improve on the margins than to foolishly chase a third superstar.

Let’s take a closer look at how Rob Pelinka used fit, upside, tradability, and continuity as his guiding principles to build a deep, diverse rotation that transforms the Lakers from a lottery team to a championship contender.

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1. Fit

The first personal quality Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office looked for when evaluating trade and free agency candidates was how they fit alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the team’s roster.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what it takes to fit alongside two superstars like James and Davis. Even the Lakers understand they need players who’ve proven they can be effective with and without the ball.
The other players on the court with LeBron and AD have to be able to make the inevitable open shots they’ll receive and do the small team-first things like passing, rebounding, and defending that championships require.

For the Lakers, the player who’s the best fit alongside James and Davis is Austin Reaves, the early favorite to win MIP next season after his breakout play for the Lakers in the playoffs and Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.
The Lakers’ priority was to avoid having to match a $100 million offer for Reaves, who’s a restricted free agent, which they were able to do by scaring off suiters and re-signing him to a below market 4-year $56 million deal.

Fit was also the clearly why the Lakers used their NT MLE to sign backup point guard Gabe Vincent to a 3-year $33 million deal and their BAE to sign backup small forward Taurean Prince to a 1-year $4.5 million contract.
Vincent and Prince were perfect examples of Pelinka smartly prioritizing fit in choosing whom to sign with his prized MLE and BAE. Like Reaves, both perfectly fit the 3&D model needed to optimize James and Davis.

Rob Pelinka and the Lakers learned their lesson with Russell Westbrook and prioritized fit as the first quality when choosing which players to bring back or sign to transform them from a lottery team to a title contender.

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2. Upside

The second personal quality the Lakers prioritized in building their current roster is upside. Rather than surrounding James and Davis with older vets, Pelinka complemented his superstars solely with players in their twenties.

Amazingly, the average age of the 15 players Pelinka has surrounded James and Davis with is 23.9-years old. Even with 38-year old James and 30-year old Davis included, the average age of the Lakers is still just 25.1-years old.
The Lakers are the 15th youngest team in the league with greater upside than the Clippers, Bucks, 76ers, Warriors, Suns, Raptors, and Heat, the seven oldest teams in the league with average team ages over 27.0 years.

With a player development oriented coaching staff, L.A. is committed to surrounding James and Davis with young players who have the upside to grow, develop, and get better, especially playing with a star like LeBron. They’re parlaying their success with low risk, high reward players like Malik Monk, Lonnie Walker, and Dennis Schroder and hoping to strike gold again with projects Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes.

The Lakers have done a great job establishing themselves as the mecca for low risk, high reward players looking to redeem their games and revive their brands playing in the bright lights of Los Angeles with Bron and AD.
The Lakers see Wood’s upside as a potential starting center in a two-bigs lineup with Anthony Davis, Reddish’s ceiling as their long coveted starting small forward, and Hayes’ future as a dominant two-way backup center.

Pelinka’s transformation of the Lakers’ roster surrounding James and Davis to prioritize upside has been nothing short of a miracle. The Lakers clearly have greater roster upside than all the other championship contenders.

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3. Tradability

Rob Pelinka’s third guiding principle in building a championship roster has been tradability, making sure that every player they sign or trade for not only possess a coveted NBA skillset but also has a team friendly contract.

Unlike last trade deadline, when the Lakers were desperate to trade Russell Westbrook, this Lakers’ roster has nothing but players whose games have solid value as well as untapped upside and contracts are easily tradable.
The Lakers may not have multiple first round picks to trade but they do have a plethora of quality trading chips in the form of solid talented young players who have legitimate NBA upsides and team friendly contracts.

How the Lakers do the first half of the season will determine what they do at the trade deadline. Chances are they will make moves to continue to upgrade the roster on the margins rather than trying to add a third star. Trading for a center like Myles Turner, a volume 3-point shooter like Gary Trent, Jr., or legitimate bigger 3&D starting wing like O.G. Anunoby would be more likely than a blockbuster deal for Trae Young or Zach LaVine.

How players perform the first half of year will also impact their tradability at the deadline. Most observers expect any trade the Lakers complete to include D’Angelo Russell, who waived his ‘no trade’ rights when re-signed.
Right now, Austin Reaves is probably untouchable as are LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt just signed a new 4-year $48 million contract, which gives him and the Lakers time to grow his game and value.

Besides enjoying a deep and diverse roster of players that can win games, the Lakers also have an impressive portfolio of tradable players to take full advantage of emerging opportunities to upgrade the roster at the deadline.

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4. Continuity

Last but not least, Pelinka’s fourth guiding principle for upgrading the Lakers’ roster from lottery team to championship contender is continuity. The Lakers have committed to establishing continuity going forward.

L.A. returned seven players from last year’s team, extending Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt and re-signing Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura to go along with LeBron James and Max Christie.
L.A. also signed five free agents in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish, and Christian Wood and two draft picks in Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis for a total of seven new players.

That gave the Lakers an extremely deep and diverse 14-player roster, one roster spot that they will likely keep open for buyout candidate, and three rookie two-way players in Colin Castleton, D’Moi Hodge, and Alex Fudge.
7 players (Davis, Reaves, Hachimura, Vincent, Vanderbilt, Hood-Schifino, Lewis ) have long-term deals, 5 players (James, Russell, Wood, Reddish, Hayes) have 1+1 deals, and 2 players (Christie, Prince ) have 1-year deals.

Since winning their 17th NBA championship in the bubble in 2020, the Lakers got into the unfortunate habit of essentially turning over their entire roster every offseason and essentially killing any continuity.
With Pelinka committing the franchise to continuity, the Lakers can continue to build a dynamic and sustainable championship caliber roster with 9 to 12 young core players locked up in team-friendly contracts.

Overall, Pelinka’s fourth roster building guiding principle is continuity, which gives the Lakers a minimum of 8 and maximum of 14 players who could come back to defend their 18th and win their 19th championship.

With the signing of Christian Wood, the Lakers now have what could be the best 12-man rotation in the NBA if they can figure out how to get minutes for everybody and how to keep their older injury-prone superstars healthy.

While the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy has tightened rules about resting stars, the time’s come for the Lakers to embrace load management to keep LeBron James and Anthony Davis healthy and extend their careers.
Right now, the Lakers current roster is so deep and diverse the team has a unique opportunity to give all 12 legitimate rotation players viable minutes while also giving James, Davis, and other players well needed ‘rest’ games.

The Lakers’ problem is they have 12 legitimate rotation players but only enough minutes in any given game to realistically play 10 players. Luckily, having 12 quality rotation players is also an opportunity for the Lakers. Instead of settling for a 10-man rotation and turning 2 players into injury insurance, the Lakers should deploy an innovative 12-man rotation that ‘plays’ a different 10 players and ‘rests’ a different 2 players every game.

Having a 12-man rotation that allows the Lakers to rest 2 players every game while still putting a championship caliber lineup on the court should make the Lakers an even better and deeper team going into the playoffs. Because all their rotation players will have chances to play important minutes and some even to start games, their confidence, experience, and ability to play winning basketball should be dramatically improved.

Opportunity knock and the Lakers have the depth and diversity to answer. Their unorthodox 12-man rotation can both give the Lakers’ 12 rotation player needed minutes and their superstars and starters needed ‘rests.’

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Lakers Projected Depth Chart

Here’s the Lakers’ projected depth chart for next season per the Athletic’s Jovan Buha with Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis starting and Vincent, Christie, Prince, Vanderbilt, and Wood as the primary backups:

The above depth chart easily translates into a 10-man rotation comprised of the 5 starters and 5 primary backups at each of the five positions. The big problem with this 10-man rotation is that it leaves out Reddish and Hayes.

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Lakers Projected Rotation Minutes

Here are Buha’s projected minutes per game for the Lakers’ 10-man rotation that includes the five starters and primary backups but does not include Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, or the two rookie draft picks:

It’s easy to see from the above chart per player that the optimum Lakers rotation is probably 9 players as 4 minutes in each half for 8 minutes in a game is not enough for for Jarred Vanderbilt to get into any rhythm.

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How 12-Man Rotation Would Work

Here is a basic guide as to how the Lakers’ 12-man rotation would work to give all 12 of the team’s legitimate rotation players viable minutes to play while allowing James, Davis, and other players to rest every 7th game.

The Lakers 12-man rotation is just a blueprint or guideline rather than a firm set of inviolable rules Darvin Ham and LeBron James and Anthony Davis have to follow when deciding who plays and rests for each game.

Basically, the Lakers need to narrow the rotation for each game to the 10 players for whom they have minutes by not playing 2 players, who could be players who are actually injured or players who are getting a ‘rest day.’
The only load management limitation is the Lakers cannot rest both James and Davis, their two players classified as ‘stars,’ in the same game or rest either of them in nationally televised or in-season tournament games.

For the Lakers’ 12-man rotation to achieve its goals of giving all 12 rotation players viable minutes while resting superstars, all 12 legitimate rotation players need to participate in and benefit from the ‘rest days’ program.
While the reasons for load managing James and Davis are most important, teams are learning more and more that embracing load management can help keep the entire team healthier with fewer and less severe injuries.

The NBA just came out with new rules and penalties for team’s resting star players during nationally televised games, of which the Laker have 28, or resting two stars, which L.A. has in James and Davis, in the same game.
The NBA will not require players who are older than 35 years old or have severe injury history to play in back-to-back games not nationally televised. Of the Lakers 15 back-to-back games, 11 have nationally televised games.

That means James could rest during the first game and Davis during the second game of 4 or the 15 back-to-backs. Both would have to play in the 11 televised back-to-backs but one star could rest in the non-televised game.
Here are some other numbers to consider. The regular season includes 82 games. Lakers have 28 nationally televised games where they cannot rest either James or Davis, leaving just 54 games where they could rest one star.

By deploying a 12-man rotation, the Lakers are essentially embracing load management and committing to the idea that you can ultimately get more games and minutes from your major players by strategically resting them.

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Lakers 12-Man Rotation Is Winner

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to have their cake and eat it too by building a team that can win at least one more championship before LeBron James retires but still be a title contender after he has gone.

Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham essentially have the Lakers now perfectly positioned to potentially pull off that seemingly miraculous double win as this Lakers team is clearly the deepest since LeBron signed with L.A.
The key to the Lakers winning their 18th championship is still the health of superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis but the Lakers suddenly have the depth now to give both superstars a dozen rest days during the season.

While a 15% reduction in games played isn’t going to guarantee James and Davis will remain healthy, the Lakers would be dumb not to make whatever moves they can to smartly reduce their superstars’ minutes and workload. That can be done by giving them a dozen rest games and limiting them to under 30 minutes per game. The NBA’s new Player Participation Policy has now essentially legitimized the need for teams to load manage their stars.

Besides giving LeBron and AD smart opportunities to rest during a long regular season, playing a 12-man rotation should give the Lakers a chance to become a better team and earn a higher seed when the playoffs start.
For the Lakers, that could mean the difference between Cam Reddish and Jackson Hayes getting realistic opportunities to show they could be this season’s low risk, high reward players who rebuilt their brand in L.A.

Bottom line, spreading games and minutes between 12 legitimate rotation players would not only help the Lakers load manage their stars and players but also make them a better and stronger team heading into the playoffs.

The remade Los Angeles Lakers are so deep after signing Christian Wood that it doesn’t matter who starts because they have the depth and diversity to create multiple starting lineups that could win an NBA championship.

That Rob Pelinka was able to put together this roster from the ashes of the Russell Westbrook trade while both getting younger and remaining under the hard cap is nothing short of miraculous and deserving of EOY honors. After passing opportunities to trade Westbrook last offseason, Pelinka parlayed difference-making trade deadline and offseason moves to remake the lottery Lakers into what should be one of the championship favorites.

In a different universe, these Lakers could be a team that alternates two or more different starting lineups to better matchup with and beat specific opponents who play big or small or superstars who need special attention.
Regardless of who the Lakers start, they have so much depth and diversity off the bench that they can easily make quick changes to fix problems or improve matchups. Look for Ham to consistently play 11 or 12 players.

That 11/12-man rotation includes superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis plus five shooters who can score 20 points any game in D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Christian Wood. The Lakers’ greatly increased size, dramatically improved outside shooting, and desperately needed new options on the wing have provided the depth and diversity to create multiple championship caliber starting lineups.

Think how deep an NBA team must be to have the ability to create multiple championship caliber starting lineups. There are probably other Lakers players like Vincent and Hayes who could also have shots at being starters. What we’re likely to see from the Lakers is an evolving starting lineup that enters training camp with Rui Hachimura as the favorite fifth starter but with Cam Reddish and Christian Wood looking to take that spot from him.

With Christian Wood signed, this Lakers’ roster is so deep and talented with so many trustworthy starting lineup options and promising low risk, high reward projects that it does not matter which players end up starting.

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The Three Most Likely Lakers Starting Lineups

Assuming James, Davis, Reaves, and Russell start, the Lakers’ best options for a fifth starter include last year playoffs hero Rui Hachimura, talented 3&D wing Cam Reddish, or just acquired stretch five Christian Wood.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ overriding priority in deciding who will be the team’s fifth starter is to find the player who best fits with and complements the Russell and Reaves backcourt and the James and Davis front court.
Needless to say, the player who is the best fit and best complements the other four starters may not be the fifth best player on the team. Or even the sixth or seventh. The key is who makes the Lakers’ starting lineup best.

While healthy competition at multiple positions will likely determine who ends up being the Lakers fifth starter, the current favorite to win the fifth starting position heading into training camp is probably Rui Hachimura. Rui played extremely well in the playoffs, his career 51.9% from deep in the playoffs being a record despite a career 34.7% from deep for the regular season. Lakers hope Rui can will break out this year as a second tier star.

Should Rui not provide consistent floor spacing and quality wing defense needed from the fifth starter, the Lakers could turn to a young prototype small forward Cam Reddish who has the talent to be a legitimate 3&D wing.
Reddish has no chance to start when the season begins but he could have an opportunity once he earns Ham’s trust because he has the size and skills at both ends to allow James and Davis to continue to play the four and five.

Regardless of how well Hachimura or Reddish play, it’s almost inevitable the Lakers ultimately revert to starting two-bigs lineups with Wood at the five to accommodate Davis’ stated desire to play more four and less five. Once Wood proves he’s bought into the Lakers philosophy and Ham is confident he’s ready, Christian should become the Lakers’ starting center with his ability to shoot the basketball from deep and protect the rim.

Ultimately, Anthony Davis wants to play the four and the Lakers want to play two bigs, which means that Christian Wood should eventually become the Lakers’ fifth starter as opposed to Rui Hachimura or Cam Reddish.

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Why It Doesn’t Matter Who Starts for Lakers

Ultimately, who starts for the Lakers doesn’t really matter because all the team’s viable starting lineups are championship caliber with two superstars and a talented deep and diverse roster that can shoot, pass, and defend.

As long as Davis and James are healthy and playing at their peak, this Lakers roster is too deep and diverse with plug-and-play rotation players who shoot, rebound, pass, defend not to contend for a championship.
It’s not going to make a difference whether it’s Hachimura, Reddish, or Wood who becomes the fifth starter alongside James, Davis, Reaves, and Russell. In fact, there’s a good chance all three could start at some point.

During their championship run in 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineup featured JaVale McGee starting at center to begin the season, Dwight Howard to close out the season, and Anthony Davis during the playoffs.
There’s a possible scenario where the Lakers begin the season with Rui Hachimura as the fifth starter, switch to Cam Reddish midway through the season, and finally go two-bigs with Christian Wood at five in the playoffs.

For a team as deep and diverse as these Lakers, who plays to close out quarters, halves, and games could be more important than who starts the game, provided the starters don’t consistently fall way behind opponents. Especially for the regular season, the Lakers would be wise to take full advantage of their depth and diversity by limiting the time played by both Anthony Davis and LeBron James to less than 30 minutes per game.

Ultimately, how Hachimura, Reddish, and Wood actually play on the court, fill their roles, and fit with the other Lakers starters will determine who ends up being the fifth starter. That’s what camp and preseason are for. Unlike other seasons, the Lakers enter camp with major positional battles both in the back and front courts. With lots of questions that need to be answered, the Lakers floor is the playoffs and ceiling championship.

The Lakers are extremely fortunate that they were able to build a roster so deep and diverse that it allows them to create multiple different starting lineups good enough to compete for and win an NBA championship.