Lakerholics

After signing superstar Anthony Davis to a 3-year $186 million extension that will lock him up for the next four or five years, the Lakers next move could be to move AD from center to power forward to unleash his game.

Anthony Davis has been extremely effective playing mostly center for the Lakers the past two seasons but the move has also resulted in a dramatic drop in the accuracy and efficiency of his midrange and 3-point shooting. During his first two years as a Laker playing mostly power forward, Davis shot 30.8% from deep (1.0 of 3.2 3PA per game). Playing mostly center the last two years, that percentage dropped to 22.2% (0.3 of 1.5 3PA per gam).

While critics use the reduced midrange and 3-point shooting stats as reasons why Davis should continue to play the five, playing center the last two years actually limited AD’s game and made it easier to defend him. Anthony Davis as a center totally changed his shot selection last season, almost eliminating mid-range and 3-point shot attempts for more shots in the paint and at the rim. That’s why his 3-point percentage plummeted.

Anthony Davis transition this past season from a three-level scorer to a low post scorer also exacerbated the Lakers serious spacing issues and made it easier for teams to pack the paint and force L.A. to shoot from outside. Going forward, the Lakers need both Davis and James to take and make threes like they did during their championship run in the bubble in 2020. Can’t win in today’s NBA with superstars who can’t take and make threes.

The Lakers need to move Anthony Davis back to power forward where he has more space and freedom to operate and he can get back to being the top-five, three-level, two-way superstar he was back in the bubble in 2020. Once LeBron James has retired, the last thing the Lakers want is for their alpha superstar to play a position that isn’t able to control the ball in space, which is why L.A.’s top priority is to shift Davis from center to forward.

Center is also not the position Anthony Davis wants to play nor the position he truly believe is best for him. Moving him to the four will give him more touches and space to help him bring back his midrange and 3-point games.

---

Why Anthony Davis Must Become Stretch Four

Frankly, if the Lakers seriously plan to revert back to the two-bigs lineups that helped them win their 17th NBA championship in the bubble, they will need Anthony Davis to regain his midrange and 3-point shooting touch.

Everything the Lakers do going forward, including playing two bigs, is all about optimizing Anthony Davis and giving him every possible opportunity to become the top five superstar for whom they traded four years ago. There’s an impression among jaded fans and analysts that AD’s ascent to greatness has stalled by inconsistency and injuries. There’s some truth in that but the Lakers believe playing center is partly responsible for delay.

There’s big push by old school critics that Davis should continue to play center and completely stop shooting long twos or threes. The Lakers should do the exact opposite and order Anthony to take at least 5 threes per game. That’s what coach Vogel did during the 2020 championship season when Davis shot 33.0% on 3.5 3PA per game. AD’s 3-point shooting peaked during the 2020 playoff run when he shot a sizzling 38.7% on 2.9 3PA per game.

The 3-point shot continues to dominate today’s NBA game and roles and opportunities for non-shooters continue to decline, which only points to the stupidity of asking a superstar like Anthony Davis to not shoot threes. Those who want to turn AD into a non-shooter don’t appreciate just how good and talented he was as a power forward and how that totally changed how the other four Lakers players around him played and interacted.

The Lakers will be looking to test two bigs with Anthony Davis at the four and either Jaxson Hayes or Christian Wood at the five during camp and preseason. Look for Anthony Davis to let it fly from midrange and deep. The Lakers want Anthony Davis to be their version of Kevin Durant, not their version of Joel Embiid. They want AD to get the same ball touches and shot opportunities that KD has been able to get by playing power forward.

Now that Anthony Davis is the official face of the franchise, the Lakers want to shine a spotlight on him and play him at the four where he’ll have the best opportunity to reach his ultimate potential as a superstar player.

---

What About LeBron James Defending Small Forwards?

The main criticism for why the Lakers should not play two bigs is that it forces LeBron James to move from power forward to small forward, which means he could be forced to chase quicker wing scorers around screens.

Of course, the counter to that argument is the problem James presents at the other end of the court. Unless we’re talking about another superstar, LeBron’s not going to lose many matchups regardless of how he defends. That’s the beauty of basketball. Every matchup has two sides and while a team could attack LeBron on defense, it’s doubtful they can take enough advantage of him on defense to counter the damage he’ll do on offense.

Basketball has also increasingly become positionless so it’s not always fives guarding fives, fours guarding fours, or threes guarding threes. Teams will cross-defend both in the front and backcourts to optimize their matchups. While Hayes or Wood may be the five, Davis the four, and James the three on offense, that doesn’t mean their going to defend their counterpart. There may be times when Hayes defends a four or Davis guards a three.

Sustainability is the long-term key for Los Angeles. The Lakers’ 5-year plan for Anthony Davis is for him to be a power forward in the Kevin Durant model at the offensive end rather than a center in the Joel Embiid model. Moving forward, the Lakers need the Anthony Davis to play power forward, where he will have the freedom and space, touches and shots to become the uber-athletic top-five offensive and defensive superstar they traded for.

Finally, the decision to play two bigs comes downs to a decision as to whether Anthony Davis or LeBron James gets to play their preferred positions. In light of the recent extension, the nod should go to Davis.
If Anthony Davis is going to be the face of the franchise, then he needs to play power forward where he will have more freedom and space playing inside and outside to get more touches and shots than playing center.

While having LeBron James guard small forwards and wings is not ideal, the Lakers are not overly worried about it because LeBron can still coast on defense and get more back on offense dominating other end of the court.

The more the Lakers focus on two-bigs lineups with Davis next to a stretch five like Wood or defensive five like Hayes, the more I think L.A. must have promised AD could play his preferred four to get him to sign the extension.

Frankly, I can’t think of another reason why the Lakers would continue to push the idea of returning to the two-bigs lineups they used during their championship run in the bubble in 2020 than they promised AD to do it. Anthony Davis has always preferred to play power forward where he has the freedom to play inside or outside and play as few minutes at center as possible to avoid the low post banging and physicality of playing the five.

It’s not like the Lakers traded for Myles Turner or Brook Lopez, proven stretch five centers who would be ideal front court anchors who could space the floor, protect the rim, and allow Anthony Davis to play the five. Yet the Lakers continue to push the two-bigs ideas, despite the fact this is not 2020, James and Davis are not the 3-point shooters they were back in the bubble, and playing two bigs would force LeBron to have guard threes.

But it’s obvious at this point the Lakers are serious about starting another big at center and playing Anthony Davis at power forward. Either they’re convinced two bigs are best or have promised AD he can play the four.

---

Playing Two Bigs Is All About Anthony Davis!

The Lakers either promised Anthony Davis they’d be playing two-bigs lineups going forward or just decided it would be the best course of action since he clearly prefers playing power forward with another big as center.

The decision to play two bigs signaled the Lakers now believe it’s more important for the newly signed Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward position instead of the older soon-to-be-retired LeBron James. That’s a needed recognition that now’s the time to go all-in on Anthony Davis who is now the face of the franchise. The Lakers smartly understand their future is now unquestionably linked to optimizing Anthony Davis.

Ultimately, optimizing Anthony Davis is what playing two bigs is all about. The Lakers want Anthony Davis to be happy. They want him to be excited about their style of play. The Lakers want the more versatile version of AD. Now 30-years old, it’s the time to allow AD to move back to the four. While they need shooting, the Lakers’ strength has been offsetting their negative 3-point shooting by winning points-in-the-paint and made free throws.

In the end, the Lakers are gambling they can solve the spacing issues so that starting two bigs will ultimately enable Anthony Davis to reach his true potential and bring multiple additional NBA championships to L.A.

---

Whom Do The Lakers Want As The Second Big?

The Lakers’ two options to start at the five next to Davis at the four are 23-year old Jaxson Hayes, whom is viewed as a Dwight Howard type defensive oriented center, and 27-year old Christian Wood, who’s a stretch five center.

Right now, the Los Angeles Lakers appear to be moving forward with a plan to start the season with 23-year old Jaxson Hayes starting at five, Anthony Davis sliding down to four, and LeBron James moving down to the three. While the Lakers view him as a defensive shot blocking center, Hayes has upside as a stretch five, hitting 20 of 57 threes for 35.1% season before last while playing just 20.0 minutes per game in 70 regular season games.

The second big the Lakers want to pair Anthony Davis with is free agent center Christian Wood, who averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game shooting 51.5%/37.6%/77.2%. Christian Wood’s reputation for not playing defense and once refusing to re-enter a game after being pulled has resulted in no NBA team being willing to offer him more than just the veteran minimum contract.

That’s why the Lakers just need to remain patient. Unless another team shows interest in signing-and-trading for Christian Wood, the Lakers should patiently wait for him to accept signing with L.A. as best option.

The ongoing internal debate over whether the Lakers should revert back to two-big model used to win the 2020 championship in the bubble will likely determine what kind of Lakers team we see once the 2023–24 season starts.

Whether to revert to playing two-bigs is a debate the Lakers would likely not be having if there were clear-cut starters at each position. Without five clear starters, the question becomes what’s the best strategy for this roster? While the competition in training camp and preseason could change who starts and who comes off the bench, the Lakers clearly would like to start two-bigs like they did during their 2020 championship run in the bubble.

Right now, the Lakers are looking to add a starting center who can stretch the floor and balance the skillsets of their other center Jaxson Hayes, whom they see as a traditional defensive center similar to Dwight Howard. The primary candidate to be the Lakers’ stretch center is Christian Wood, who’s still hoping to get an offer for more than the veteran’s minimum. Other possible candidates include Davis Bertans and Markieff Morris.

Should the Lakers not sign Wood or a player who could start at center, they would then likely opt to start Jaxson Hayes at the five with Anthony Davis returning to his preferred four, except when he closes games at the five.
While the Lakers consider Hayes to be a defensive center in the mode of Howard or McGee, Jaxson has potential as a 3-point shooter and shot 35% from deep the year before last, making 20 of 57 threes over 70 games.

If the Lakers don’t find a stretch center to sign, they could turn to a veteran defensive center like Bismack Biyombo, who could start next to Davis or come off the bench. Right now, they’re holding out for a stretch five center. The Lakers could also decide Hachimura was the best stretch five option and go with him and AD as the two-bigs. Finally, a still growing Vanderbilt might have worked hard this summer and improved his 3-point shot.

So let’s look at the push and the pros and cons of the Lakers reverting back to the two-bigs model of 2020 where Wood or Hayes would start at the five with Davis at the four until he takes over the five to close out the game.

---

The Push For Two-Bigs

For the second straight season, there’s a push for the Lakers to play two-bigs during the regular season like they did during their championship run in the bubble back with Davis at the four and Howard or McGee at the five.

Unfortunately, the disappointing play of Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant eliminated that option and forced the Lakers to go small during last year’s regular season with Anthony Davis at the five and LeBron James at the four. Needless to say, the roster’s lack of size at almost every position led to the Lakers being consistently outrebounded and struggling in the season and the playoffs to defend bigger players who were simply shooting over them.

One of the Lakers’ major goals this offseason was to fix their relative size disadvantage at every position by getting bigger in the backcourt, finding a second big to start at center, and moving James and Davis down a position. Lakers added size at point guard in 6′ 4″ Gabe Vincent and 6′ 6″ Jalen Hood-Schifino, at shooting guard in 6′ 7″ Maxwell Lewis, at small forward in 6′ 8″ Taurean Prince and 6′ 8″ Cam Reddish, and at center in 6′ 11″ Jaxson Hayes.

The Lakers’ desire to revert to the two-bigs model they used to win their 17th NBA championship in the bubble back in 2020 has them looking to add a more offensive oriented center like Christian Wood as their 14th player. With the Lakers signing Davis to a 3-year extension to lock him up for five years, they want to optimize the new face of the franchise, surround him with talent, and allow him to play his preferred power forward position.

Ironically, playing two-bigs gives the Lakers the opportunity to insert a front court player who can help the team improve their floor spacing by adding a lethal 3-point shooter at a position ripe for major mismatches. Starting a stretch five is probably the single easiest way for the Lakers to improve their team spacing as last season’s starting front court of James and Davis shot poorly from deep, shooting 32.1% and 25.7% respectively.

The push to play two-bigs has the Lakers essentially doubling down on their formula for winning by using size to dominate points-in-the-paint and made free throws and offset their not being a great 3-point shooting team.

---

The Pros For Two-Bigs

The pros for the Lakers playing two-bigs start with obvious advantages of being bigger at every position — more rebounds, points-in-the-paint, and made free throws — plus less wear-and-tear on superstars James and Davis.

Last season, the Lakers finished 6th in rebounding with 44.7 rebound per game but 25th in opponent rebounding by allowing 44.9 rebounds per game. In other words, the Lakers lost the rebounding battle last season. The hope would be by bringing in another 7-footer to start at the five and moving Anthony Davis down to the four and LeBron James down to the three, the Lakers would then be able to control the boards this season.

The same logic holds true for points-in-the-paint and made free throws. Last season, the Lakers finished 6th with 54.5 points-in-the-paint but 23rd by allowing 52.8 points-in-the-paint by opponents, a plus 1.7 differential. Last season, the Lakers’ 20.6 made free throws per game was 2nd while their 16.1 opponent free throws made was 1st in NBA. The Lakers hope playing two-bigs will increase points-in-the-paint and made free throws.

Playing two-bigs also gives the Lakers an opportunity to insert a modern stretch five center into their starting lineup who can stretch the floor and improve the team’s poor front court 3-point shooting by James and Davis. Adding Christian Wood or even a small ball five like Davis Bertans or Markieff Morris could significantly improve the Lakers’ floor spacing. There’s no reason Lakers playing two-bigs sacrifices 3-point shooting.

Finally, maybe the biggest reason the Lakers want to play two-bigs is to allow Anthony Davis to play his preferred position of power forward as he takes the baton from LeBron James and becomes the face of the franchise. The Lakers need to reduce their reliance on their two superstars, hopefully even embracing some load management by limiting them to 30 minutes per game. I know LeBron and AD hate load management but they need it.

Bottom line, the Lakers need to play two-bigs because it will improve their rebounding, points-in-the-paint, made free throws, and 3-point shooting and reduce reliance and workloads of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

---

The Cons Against Two-Bigs

The cons against the Lakers playing two-bigs revolve around how it would hurt their spacing, rely too much on Jaxson Hayes, move Anthony Davis away from the rim, and wear LeBron James out defending small forwards.

How another big affects the Lakers’ spacing will depend on which big. While the Lakers won the title in 2020 with non-shooters Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee starting at center, that may not work in today’s NBA. That’s why the Lakers want Christian Wood, whose great offensive skills, including lethal 3-point shooting, would modernize the team’s front court and actually help spread the court so LeBron and AD can attack the rim.

Spacing becomes a major issue if the Lakers cannot sign Christian Wood. Do they settle for a small ball five like Bertans or Morris? Or do they instead start Jaxson Hayes or a defensive center like Bismack Biyombo. While he may not be their first choice, the Lakers are confident that Jaxson Hayes can be their starting center and see him as very much in the mode of Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee. They’re counting on Jaxson Hayes.

The other major cons against two-bigs is that it moves Anthony Davis from the five, where he has been a dominant force at both ends of the court, and moves LeBron James to the three, where he’ll be challenged defensively. For the last three years, Anthony Davis and LeBron James have started at the five and four, partly because the Lakers just could not seem to find a starting quality center to pair with AD. There’s risk in changing positions.

Many observers believe center is Anthony Davis’ best position because he ends up playing closer to the basket and thus making a higher percentage of his shots. They especially worry that AD can no longer shoot the three. Meanwhile, there’s no question that power forward is a better position for 38-year old LeBron James to play than small forward. The last thing the Lakers want is LeBron chasing shooters around and through screens.

If the Lakers opt to play two-bigs, they’ll have to figure out how to deal with spacing, how to get Jaxson Hayes to fill the starting center role, and how to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis deal with changing positions.

While Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham have done a great job transforming the Lakers into legitimate contenders, their greatest achievement could turn out to be how they’ve positioned the team to transition from LeBron James.

As Kobe’s agent, Pelinka remembers how tough it was on the Lakers after the team gave Bryant his last big contract and it took a decade to recover and win after Mamba retired. Rob’s committed not to let that happen again. Every move the Lakers made at the trade deadline and this summer was part of a plan to create a roster that could both win without LeBron James and complement and empower Anthony Davis as team’s alpha superstar.

While all the talk of retirement may be premature, Pelinka and Ham know the coming year could be the last year LeBron James wears purple and gold. He might retire or might leave to play with Bronny on another team. The Lakers must be ready to move on. They worked hard over the last year remaking the roster into a legitimate contender and cleaning up their cap sheet so that they have a bevy of tradable contracts and draft capital.

Pelinka and Ham not only built a championship caliber roster that could give James and Davis a chance to win this season but they did it exclusively with younger players specifically chosen for their fits with AD’s timeline. The Lakers did not even add a single player over 30 years of age. Instead, they added young, big, long, athletic players who better fit AD’s timeline and would still be in their prime long after LeBron James had retired.

As the Lakers add the final touches to next season’s roster, Pelinka and Ham have the team perfectly positioned to make a smooth and successful three-step transition from LeBron James to the Anthony Davis era.

---

Step 1: Agreeing Upon Anthony Davis’ Extension

Step 1 to transition from LeBron James is getting Anthony Davis to sign an extension. Davis will be eligible on August 4th to sign a 3-year $167.6 million extension, committing him to the Lakers for 5-years $251.4 million.

While critics can complain about the games missed due to injuries and the inconsistency on offense, Pelinka and Ham know how essential Anthony Davis is to the Los Angeles Lakers’ current or future championship hopes. The Lakers would be fools to try and trade Davis with this possibly being James’ last year in purple and gold. Internally, the Lakers know they have no option other than to go all-in on Anthony Davis at this point in time.

By locking Davis up for the next five years, the Lakers get the anchor they need to make a smooth and successful transition from LeBron James. It also allows James the freedom to stay with the team as long as he wants. The Lakers know they need continuity to win championships and that starts with locking up Davis for the next five years. Look closely and you can see this roster was built more for Anthony Davis than LeBron James.

The Lakers expressed desire to return to the two-bigs model they used to win the 2020 championship in the bubble is another sign that the Lakers are committed to signing superstar Anthony Davis to a 3-year extension. The Lakers grand plan is to move forward with Anthony Davis and a second superstar who would replace LeBron James, They’ve built a roster that should make them the most coveted landing spot for NBA superstars.

And that is how it should be going forward. Maybe LeBron will bounce back and hold Father Time off for another year but the Lakers are betting on this being Anthony Davis’ team and AD taking the torch from LeBron.

---

Step 2: Building Roster To Complement Anthony Davis

Step 2 to transition from LeBron James is building a roster to complement and empower Anthony Davis, which is exactly what Pelinka and Ham have successfully been doing since the trade deadline and over the summer.

The Lakers signing Anthony Davis to an extension and then suddenly wanting to revert back to the two-big model used to win their 17th championship in not coincidence. It’s the Lakers doing what AD wants. From the day he joined the Lakers, AD has always been willing to play the five when needed but preferred to play the four. That’s why the Lakers are so focused on Christian Wood. They want a stretch five to play with AD.

And while Pelinka and Ham built a team that could contend for a title, they also did something remarkable in its success and daring, which is build a roster designed to complement Anthony Davis instead of LeBron James; Look at the ages of the players the Lakers have assembled: James 38, Davis 30, Prince 29, Russell 27, Vincent 27, Reaves 25, Hachimura 25, Vanderbilt 24, Hayes 23, Reddish 23, Lewis 20, Hood-Schifino 20, Christie 20.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the only Lakers players on the roster over 30-years old. This roster was specifically built for Anthony Davis’ championship window rather than LeBron James possible last season.
The only ways the Lakers acquire a superstar to replace LeBron James is to trade for one or sign one as a free agent. What Pelinka and Ham have done is collect assets that give the Lakers great flexibility to replace James.

The Lakers have one final roster spot to fill, which they plan to fill with a stretch big who space the court and provide more shooting. Top candidates are Christian Wood, Bismack Biyombo, Rudy Gay, and Davis Bertans.

---

Step 3: Acquiring LeBron James’ Replacement

Step 3 to transition from LeBron James is acquiring the superstar player to replace him, which is always the most difficult step to accomplish. The Lakers can either sign James’ replacement in free agency or trade for him.

How the Lakers replace LeBron will depend on when and how he decides to leave the team. James has a player option for next season, which could make him an free agent next year if he were to exercise it next summer. What James decides will obviously depend heavily on what happens this season. It’s also possible that LeBron feels so good about his own health and the team the Lakers have put together that he signs an extension.

Frankly, the last thing the Lakers want to see is LeBron exercise his player option and retire next season as there is no way with their recent additions that they could clear enough cap space to replace James via free agency. They’re hoping LeBron will decline his player option and play out the last two years of his contract. That would allow for teams, players, and fans to enjoy the farewell tour LeBron deserves for all he’s done for the NBA.

Strategically, that would allow the Lakers to potentially position themselves to be able to clear enough cap space to use James’ expiring salary to sign his replacement via free agency or trade or sign-and-trade for a superstar. After the 2024–25 season, the Lakers would have 6 players under contract for $89 million in salaries. With a projected salary cap of $156 million, the Lakers should easily be able to clear cap space for a max salary superstar.

While it wouldn’t surprise anybody if Davis and James both ended up signing extensions, the Lakers project LeBron James to decline his 2024–25 player option and play the final year of his contract before finally retiring.

If we’re to believe Rob Pelinka, one of the major changes the Lakers could be planning to deploy for the coming season is to go “back to the two-big model they used” to win their 2020 NBA Championship in the bubble.

Pelinka told ESPN the Lakers “have had talks with Anthony Davis about going back to the two-big model they used with Dwight Howard/JaVale McGee.” He also said “it was a big reason why Jaxson Hayes was signed.” Before Pelinka’s comments, Rui Hachimura was expected to be the fifth starter along with James, Davis, Reaves, and Russell. Not it looks as if the Lakers may also experiment in training camp with Jaxon Hayes starting.

During their 2020 championship regular season and playoffs, the Lakers two-big lineups dominated points-in-the-paint by 7.0 points per game while remaining close with respect to free throws made and 3-pointers made. Unfortunately, the move to play more small ball with Anthony Davis at center during the next three seasons led to the Lakers’ points-in-the-paint differential and positional size advantage completely disappearing.

That’s why the Lakers’ desire to return to the two-big model that won the championship should be a smart move, especially after losing to the bigger Nuggets and watching more and more teams opting to go with two-bigs.

---

Why Lakers Should Start Jaxson Hayes at Center

Starting Jaxson Hayes at the five with Anthony Davis at the four in a two-big lineup is more about the Lakers’ need to get bigger to dominate the boards and the paint than a pressing need to find minutes for the young 7-footer.

Frankly, by going big, the Lakers are essentially doubling down on their proven game strategy of winning the points-in-the-paint and free-throws-made competitions by more than they lose the the 3-point competition. Starting two bigs also makes a lot of sense to help the Lakers navigate the long regular season. It can help win games and reduces the wear-and-tear on Anthony Davis to keeps him fresh and healthy for the playoffs.

That’s not to say that Jaxson Hayes is not a talented young player with great size and athleticism. At 7′ 0″ and 220 lbs, Hayes’ four years with the Pelicans is filled with highlight reels of thunderous dunks and eye-dropping blocks. In his third season with the Pels, Hayes started 28 games and averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 boards, 0.6 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.6 steals in 20.0 minutes per game shooting 55.1% from field, 35.1% from deep, 76.6% from the line.

Unfortunately, Hayes’ fourth season was derailed by injuries that led to his play regressing and limited him to just 47 games. In the end, the Pelicans decided it was best to let Jaxson Hayes walk for nothing as a free agent.
The Lakers are hoping they can reach Hayes and get him to buy in to doing what they need from him as a big playing with and without Anthony Davis. The Lakers hope their staff can do for Hayes’ what they did for Monk.

Hayes doesn’t need to play like an all star for the Lakers two-big model to work. All he has to do is play solid drop coverage, rebound the ball, and protect the rim on defense and dunk every chance he gets on offense.
His presence alone with transform the Lakers’ dynamic at both ends and free up LeBron James and Anthony Davis to slide down a position and enjoy positional size advantage to dominate the paint going forward.

The Lakers wanted to go back to the two-big model to start last season but neither Damian Jones or Thomas Bryant was good enough to fill the starter role so the Lakers were forced to revert back to Anthony Davis at center. There’s a good chance that Jaxson Hayes will prove capable of holding down the starting center role next to Anthony Davis. It may not happen immediately but it’s high on the Lakers list of priorities for next season.

The Los Angeles Lakers need to restore the positional size advantage they enjoyed when they won their 17th championship in 2020 by starting 7′ 0″ center Jaxson Hayes alongside 6′ 11″ Anthony Davis in a two-big lineup.

---

Why Lakers Should NOT Start Jaxson Hayes at Center

The main reason the Lakers should not start the Jaxson Hayes at center alongside Anthony Davis in a two-big lineup because playing two bigs who don’t even shoot 30% from deep does not work in the modern NBA.

What the Lakers need to realize is this is no longer 2020. LeBron and AD are three years older and the teams with whom they’re competing are bigger and better than the ones they faced and defeated in the bubble. Strategically, what the Lakers need in a starting center is a legitimate stretch five who has the 3-point gravity to insure his defender remains attached and isn’t sagging off to pack the paint against LeBron and AD.

While the Lakers would like to return to the two-big model, they realize the only way they can effectively do that is with a center who can shoot the ball and space the floor rather than a traditional defensive oriented center. That’s why the Lakers are interested in Christian Wood, who not only has the size and length to protect the rim but also is an elite 3-level scorer who has shot over 50% from the field and over $37% from deep the last 4 years.

While the Lakers are hoping to be able to sign Christian Wood to a free agent minimum salary contract, there’s potential competition from the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat that could end up paying him more money. Wood is holding out hoping the Bulls, Heat, or Lakers will end up offering him more than the minimum. He desperately wants to avoid the negative stigma of having to accept a veteran’s minimum salary to stay in the league.

The Lakers do have the ability to pull off a sign-and-trade with the Mavs for Christian Wood but it would mean trading fan favorite Jarred Vanderbilt, who will be on the final year of his very favorable $4.7 million contract. One major benefit of trading for Wood is it gives the Lakers his Bird rights so they could go over the cap to re-sign him instead of possibly losing him to free agency like happened with Malik Monk and Lonnie Walker.

As for Hayes, the Lakers see him as more in the Howard/McGee mold of defensive center who starts and eats minutes but doesn’t close games in the regular season and becomes the backup center off bench in the playoffs. While he’s not Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes shot 35.1% while making 57 threes in 70 games 2 years ago and has consistently shot over 70% from the line since being in the league. Only 23, he could develop into a stretch 4/5.

The Lakers desire to play two-bigs could shape the team’s starting lineup for the coming season. Whether Christian Wood or Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers focus in camp and preseason will be testing the two-big model.