Lakerholics

During a meeting between the Lakers and Klutch Sports, Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham proclaimed he planned to ‘run the Lakers’ offense through Anthony Davis’ this coming season, a move approved by LeBron James.

This would be a major change for any LeBron team much less a Lakers team that’s relied upon the ball being in James’ hands since he signed as a free agent four years ago. Whether Ham can accomplish this is uncertain. What Ham’s proclamation and James’ approval signal is a recognition that it’s time for Anthony Davis to take the baton as the face of the franchise and for the Lakers to begin limiting the workload on 37-year old LeBron James.

The Lakers’ major offensive challenge has been creating spacing to prevent teams from packing the paint and forcing LeBron James and Anthony Davis to settle for outside jumpers rather than attacking the paint and the basket. Darvin Ham’s pitch to the Lakers’ front office was that the 4-out offense he ran on the Bucks with Antetokounmpo, Lopez, and Holiday could create the spacing needed by the Lakers’ big three of James, Davis, and Westbrook.

Let’s look at why Darvin Ham’s 4-out offense should give LeBron and AD more spacing than last year’s 5-out sets, where James and Davis play in the new offense, and what it means to run the offense through Anthony Davis.

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Why Do 4-Out Sets Provide Better Spacing Than 5-Out Sets?

The above is the Milwaukee Bucks practice court with five blue rectangles head coach Mike Budenholzer had drawn on the court to show his players where they should be in the 4-out offense to create the best spacing.

Before changing to a 4-out offense two years ago, Budenholzer had been running 5-out sets but had been frustrated how, even with all five players spaced outside the 3-point line, defenders were still close enough to help. Switching to 4-out sets where first player down the court fills the dunker slot and the next two the corners pins three defenders to the baseline to give the remaining two offensive players the maximum possible spacing.

Budenholzer’s goal in evolving from a 5-out offense to a 4-out offense was to increase the space between defenders so that it become more difficult for defenders to help or stop scoring wings from attacking the paint and rim. Obviously, Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office are betting the spacing from Darvin Ham‘s’4-out offense can do for LeBron James and Anthony Davis what it did for the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.

In today’s NBA, the prevailing theory is 5-out sets maximize spacing. While 5-out sets spread defenses and force every player to defend the 3-point line, 4-out sets give elite perimeter players more space to attack defenses.

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Where Do LeBron James and Anthony Davis Play in 4-Out Offense?

Unlike Frank Vogel offense, Darvin Ham’s 4-out offense is a positionless system. Players take spots on the court based on the order they arrive in the front court rather than the position in the lineup they play.

In Darvin Ham’s 4-out offense, the first player down the court takes the dunker spot, in this case Brook Lopez. The second and third players down the court — Bobby Portis and Grayson Allen — go to left and right corners. Assuming no early offense, the fourth and fifth players down the court — Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton — become the wings with potential help defenders too far away to keep them from penetrating.

The Lakers will be actively looking for early offense opportunities, either a pass to AD or another defender who leaked out after challenging a 3-point shot or to the second and third players who filled the left and right corner. While the Lakers new offense is positionless, LeBron James and Anthony Davis will often wind up being the two wings at the top of the key with the other three players and their defenders lined up along the baseline.

While there will be matchups where the Lakers’ superstars post up, James and Davis will usually be positioned on the wings above the break with the greatest possible space between help defenders on the left and right.

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What Does Running the Offense Through Anthony Davis Really Mean?

Running the offense through Anthony Davis really means featuring him as the Lakers’ primary offensive weapon, the superstar whom the team relies upon to lead in scoring and get them a bucket when desperately needed.

The last three years, LeBron James remained as the Lakers’ leading scorer, averaging 25.3, 25.0, and 30.3 points per game versus 26.1, 21.8, and 23.2 points per game averaged by Anthony Davis during the same three years. When it came to total shot attempts, LeBron James averaged 19.4, 18.3, and 21.8 shot attempts per game the last three years versus 17.7, 17.0, and 17.4 shot attempts per game for Anthony Davis over the same three years.

If the Lakers want to compete for an NBA championship, they’re going to need both LeBron James and Anthony Davis to stay healthy all season and perform at the same heightened level they played to win in the bubble. Realistically, if the Lakers run their offense through AD, he should be expected to lead the team with 20 shot attempts and 30 points per game with LeBron backing him up with 15 shot attempts and 25 points per game.

The Los Angeles Lakers are at a critical crossroads and desperately need to find out whether Anthony Davis can take the baton from LeBron James and become the lead superstar through whom they can run their offense.

Everybody knows what the Lakers want, which is LeBron’s signature on a 2-year $97 million contract extension with a player option on the second year but the big question is what does LeBron James want from the Lakers? 

So what would constitute ‘productive’ discussions when LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports met with the Lakers’ head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka yesterday about LeBron James’ contract extension? While LeBron’s eligible to sign an extension today, what’s more important is that James and the Lakers can now legally discus specific parameters Klutch Sports wants as conditions for LeBron James signing the 2-year extension.

Whether LeBron signs the extension now or waits until before training camp in October doesn’t matter at this point. All that matters is the Lakers know exactly what they need to accomplish to get LeBron James to sign extension. ‘Productive’ extension discussions could be as general as Klutch telling the Lakers that they need to trade both first round draft picks or as specific as Rich Paul saying the Lakers need to trade for Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris.

Pelinka surely walked James and Paul through the Lakers’ Big Board of possible Russell Westbrook trades both to show them their overall game plan but also to get feedback as to what LeBron and Rich were thinking. LeBron’s always been consulted when the Lakers made major moves so formally presenting their grand plans to LeBron and integrating his feedback would have been the logical path for ‘productive’ discussions.

Right now, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are in compete lock step that trading for Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris or Seth Curry is the team’s Plan A. If successful, there’s no question James would sign the extension. Plan B right now is the Lakers trading Russell Westbrook for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. If Lakers strike out on Kyrie, I think James understands how both Turner and Hield could make James’ and Davis’ jobs easier.

The key to the Lakers presentation is trading Russell Westbrook. Chances are the Lakers have one or two Westbrook trades that represent their back ups if they cannot complete either the Irving or Turner and Hield trades. Fortunately for the Lakers, they’re confident the worst outcome if they miss out on their first two options would be having to trade Westbrook for their third or fourth options. There is no option where Westbrook comes back.

What the Lakers will make clear in the days to come is that they will do what they need to rebuild their roster championship caliber to better complement LeBron and AD and convince LeBron to sign the extension.

Injuries to their superstars not only helped derail the Lakers’ championship hopes the past two seasons but may also have caused them to forget just how great they can still be as a team with a healthy, rested James and Davis.

Has the Lakers’ front office forgotten that LeBron and AD led them to their league best 17th NBA championship in the bubble less than two years ago? Or that there’ s no better duo than LeBron and AD when they are healthy? Have they forgotten how difficult it was to surround three superstars with rotation players when all you’re able to pay is the league minimum or how lack of depth doomed the Lakers when hit with untimely injuries?

Right now, the Nets’ Kyrie Irving is the Lakers’ Plan A and the Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield their Plan B. The only question is whether the Lakers are making a mistake by once again going for a Superstar Big Three. There appears to be disagreement in the front office whether the Lakers should trade point guard Russell Westbrook for another third superstar like Kyrie Irving or opt for depth via multiple rotation players.

There’s no question a healthy Kyrie Irving would make the Los Angeles Lakers a championship contender on the court if his off-court pyrotechnics and personal idiosyncrasies didn’t get in the way of his playing every game. The issue is whether the Lakers might be smarter trading Westbrook for multiple legitimate starters and rotation players who could unlock and unleash LeBron and AD rather than costing them critical touches and shots.

There’s a strong case trading Russell Westbrook to the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner and multiple legitimate rotation players could be the Lakers’ smartest move as it could unleash untapped greatness in LeBron and AD.

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Myles Turner Unleashes LeBron James and Anthony Davis

Myles Turner is the floor spacing, shot blocking modern center the Lakers need to make Darvin Ham’s 4-out offense and drop coverage defense work and free LeBron James and Anthony Davis to become their best versions.

If the Lakers want to have success offensively, they need a center who can stretch the floor and create spacing with his 3-point shooting and setting screens, and being a force in the paint for easy lobs, dunks, and put backs. While Turner is 26-years old, he’s made 391 out of 1,121 for 34.5% from deep in 7 years in the NBA. The Lakers’ only other stretch center, 25-year old Thomas Bryant, only made 92 out of 263 for 35.0% from deep in 5 years.

Besides being the proven stretch center the Lakers need offensively, Turner’s also the league’s top shot blocker and rim protector, averaging 2.3 blocks per game for his career and leading the league in blocks last 2 years. There’s discussion with the Lakers brain trust right now whether Turner’s defensive impact alone could even be more important for the Lakers than Irving’s shot creation and scoring. L.A.’s rim protection would be elite.

But even more important than the direct impact Turner will have on the Lakers offense and defense is the impact he will have in transforming and unleashing the games of the superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Starting Turner at center allows the Lakers to move James and Davis down a position, giving them a positional size advantage over the player they’re matching up against and giving L.A. the versatility to play both big or small.

Unlike Kyrie, who would take touches and points away from LeBron and AD, Myles Turner with his ability to stretch the court and protect the rim unlocks and unleashes superstars James and Davis to become their best.

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LeBron James Conserves Energy As Lakers’ Stretch Power Forward

One of the biggest advantages of the Lakers trading for Myles Turner is it allows Darvin Ham to move both LeBron James and Anthony Davis down a position so they have a significant size advantage at their new positions.

The Lakers commitment to starting two bigs raises the question of where LeBron James and Anthony Davis play? While both can play either forward position, the Lakers should play James at the four to conserve his energy. Chasing bigger wing scorers around picks as a three is the last thing the Lakers want LeBron James doing in the season he turns 38-years old. The time has come for LeBron to become the Lakers’ stretch four or point four.

While the Lakers don’t want LeBron wearing himself out on defense, they do want the ball in his hands a lot on offense. With Westbrook playing point last season, LeBron saw his assists fall to 6.2 per game, lowest in 10 years. This season, expect LeBron to have the ball in his hands a lot more than last season as he continues to evolve into a point four who leads the team in assists and a stretch four who’s an NBA top-ten volume 3-point shooter.

One of the major changes in the Lakers roster this season is going to be a premium on size. While the NBA is increasingly turning to small ball, the Los Angeles Lakers have clearly zigged while everybody else was zagging. While the Lakers will start games with a front court of 6′ 11″ Myles Turner at the five, 6′ 9″ LeBron James at the four, and 6′ 10″ Anthony Davis at the three, they may close games with a small ball lineup with AD at the five.

Darvin Ham’s challenge is not just to find the best position for each player personally but the best position for each player that makes the team better. For the Lakers, point four and stretch four is that position for LeBron James.

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Anthony Davis Becomes Lakers’ Leading Scorer and Wing Defender

While rim protection remains a major defensive goal, the most important defender in today’s game is probably the 6′ 7″ to 6′ 10″ 3&D wing defender who’s responsible for guarding the opposing team’s leading wing scorer.

One of the benefits of trading for Pacers center Myles Turner is it allows the Lakers to dedicate Anthony Davis to become the bigger wing stopper on defense that the Lakers and every single other NBA team desperately needs. The lack of a quality 6′ 7″ to 6′ 10″ wing defender to guard bigger scorers like Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Khris Middleton, and Paul George has been one of the Lakers major weaknesses the past 3 seasons.

Anthony Davis is one of the few two-way superstars in the NBA today. He can literally play and defend all five basketball positions on the court at all three levels, including the paint and low post, midrange, and 3-point line. With Turner and James protecting the rim, Davis can lock down the opposing team’s best bigger wing scorer and force him to give up the ball or take a contested shot against one of the best 1-on-1 defenders in the league.

Offensively, Davis will also be able to dominate smaller defenders by taking them into the post or midrange for easy turn around jumper. Playing the three, he will be able to face up and beat his defenders off the dribble. The spacing provided by surrounding Anthony Davis with two bigs and two guards who are all excellent 3-point shooters will enable Anthony Davis to have the greatest season of his career and maybe his first DPOY as a Laker.

With Turner as their stretch five and James their stretch four, the Los Angeles Lakers can play Anthony Davis at the three, where he can be the team’s leading scorer, defensive wing stopper, and face of the franchise.

The Los Angeles Lakers are hurtling towards what could be a major turning point in franchise history on August 4th as that is the first date that LeBron James and the Lakers can negotiate a possible 2-year $97 million extension.

Without an extension, LeBron would become an unrestricted free agent next summer and the Lakers could lose him for nothing. Uncertainty over the extension has left LeBron and the Lakers in an uncomfortable limbo. Leary of losing LeBron next summer, the Lakers unilaterally handcuffed themselves by refusing to sign or trade for players whose contracts are longer than the one year remaining on James’ contract regardless of value.

The Lakers have had a excellent offseason. They hired a charismatic young head coach in Darvin Ham, adopted a more modern approach to the game, and used the draft and free agency to become younger and more athletic. Now comes the challenging part of the offseason as the Lakers need to trade Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and their two available first round draft picks to get three or four legitimate rotation players who can shoot.

As August 4 approaches, the Lakers must make some big decisions. Right now, they’re in a lose-lose situation. Don’t make major moves and LeBron could leave. Make moves LeBron doesn’t approve and he still could leave. What the Lakers need to do is change the dynamic of the situation into a win-win situation. They need make the major moves to rebuild the roster to championship quality and remain confident James wants to stay a Laker.

That means being smart and being willing to take back a reasonable 2 or 3-year contract for a legitimate starter or rotation player who is a good fit as part of the return from a Russell Westbrook or Talen Horton-Tucker trade.

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1. Commit to Future with LeBron James

Let’s start by saying what everybody should know, which is LeBron has no intention of leaving the Los Angeles Lakers at this point in his career. So forget any ideas of LeBron demanding a trade or the Lakers pursuing one.

That doesn’t mean LeBron won’t pressure the Lakers as much as possible to surround him with a championship roster regardless of how difficult and challenging that might be, especially after the team traded for Westbrook. In the end, the Lakers must stay confident James is not going anywhere and focus their intention on making sure when August 4th arrives they’re ready to present LeBron with their best pitch why he should sign extension.

That means Rob Pelinka doing his job and making or setting the stage for major trades to complete the roster rebuilding job by adding three or four legitimate rotation players who are also elite 3-point shooters to the roster. What it doesn’t mean is Rob waiting for input from LeBron and Klutch on whom he should be pursuing. We saw how allowing LeBron James and Anthony Davis to push for a Russell Westbrook trade worked last season.

If that means the Lakers take back a little more annual salary in trade to get a player who is a better fit, then so be it. If it means the Lakers take back a rotation player on a reasonably valued three-year contract, then so be it. The worst thing the Lakers can do in the aftermath of last season’s disaster is to become hesitant, unconfident, uncertain, and afraid of making another mistake. Instead, they need to think clearly, act confidently and decisively.

As August 4th approaches, Pelinka needs to be able to present LeBron with a fait accompli when it comes to rebuilding the roster. Much like the Field of Dreams, Rob needs to build a winner to get LeBron to sign the extension

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2. Trade Westbrook for Multiple Rotation Players

The single most important task facing Rob Pelinka this offseason is he must find a way to trade Russell Westbrook and Talen Horton-Tucker for three or four legitimate rotation players who are also elite 3-point shooters.

The problem is the Lakers aren’t content just to improve the roster. Despite missing the playoffs last season, Los Angeles’ front office is still shooting for the moon and hoping to pull off an improbable Westbrook for Irving trade. They are simply not going to consider Plan B with Indiana, Plan C with Utah, or Plan D with New York until they are 100% sure there is no chance to trade Russell Westbrook to the Nets for Kyrie Irving and other shooters.

So far, the Lakers appear to have four possible teams who have interest in trading for Russell Westbrook. In order of preference, these teams are the Brooklyn Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the Utah Jazz, and the New York Knicks. The Lakers’ targeted rotation players include the Nets’ Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris, the Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, the Jazz’ Mike Conley and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the Knicks’ Julius Randle and Evan Fournier.

It also means that the Lakers need to be more flexible and realistic when it comes to taking back contracts that last beyond LeBron James’ contract. Refusing to take back any player contracts longer than one year is dumb. While the Lakers would love to free up cap space to sign Kyrie as a free agent next season, there is no way they’re going to be able to trade Russell Westbrook without taking back reasonably valued multi-year contracts.

Whether LeBron signs and extension or not, the Lakers must trade Russell Westbrook to one of the above four teams because there is no way in the world LeBron James wants to play with Russell Westbrook next season.

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3. Sell LeBron on Finishing His Career with Lakers

There was a reason LeBron James wanted to join the Los Angeles Lakers and nothing that has happened in the four years he has worn purple and gold has changed that at this point. LeBron is destined to retire as a Laker.

The legacies of LeBron James and the Lakers are already strongly intertwined by his accepting the mantle from the great Kobe Bryant and then leading the purple and gold to their league best 17th championship. While injuries ended two of his four seasons with the Lakers, LeBron has cemented his place in Lakers history as Kobe’s rightful successor. That’s a bond that will always be there for both Jeanie Buss and LeBron James.

Part of the job of convincing LeBron to sign the extension is reminding him of his deep ties with Kobe and the franchise and inviting him to develop a friendship and relationship with Jeanie going forward just as Kobe did. Jeanie Buss and the Lakers have always been a star driven franchise and one of the reasons LeBron wanted to be a Los Angeles Laker was he saw and appreciated how the franchise treats its superstars like Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers should also strengthen their relationship with LeBron James by helping him achieve two of his personal goals: to play on the same team with his son Bronny and become an NBA team owner when he retires. The Lakers could promise to set aside a draft pick for Bronny or to look to trade for him if he is drafted and to help LeBron get an opportunity to buy into the Lakers the next time one of the minority owners wants to sell.

Rob needs to remind LeBron that his best opportunity to win more NBA championships, expand his legacy of greatness, and surpass Michael Jordan as the GOAT is to sign the extension and continue his career as a Laker.

Let’s start with the assumption the Los Angeles Lakers will need superstar Anthony Davis to remain healthy and have a career best season to have any chance at winning their league best 18th NBA championship this season. 

With Father Time limiting 38-year old LeBron James, the Lakers realize any future championships are going to need superstar Anthony Davis to make the proverbial next leap and take the baton as the best player on the planet. Darvin Ham, the Lakers’ new coach has said as much: “I would say he’s (AD) the biggest factor,” Ham said. “I’m looking forward to him having a huge year this year. I know the way we’re going to play is going to benefit him.” 

Ham’s strategy is to replicate the offensive and defensive schemes the Bucks used to win the 2022 NBA championship with Brook Lopez playing the five, Giannis Antetokounmpo at the four, and Khris Middleton playing the three. Right now the Lakers’ plan is to start Damian Jones or Thomas Bryant at the five, Anthony Davis at the four, and LeBron James at the three. The big weakness in the plan is that neither Jones or Bryant are Brook Lopez.

While the Lakers still hope to be able to trade for Kyrie Irving, there are strong arguments to be made that the smartest move Rob Pelinka could make right now would be to trade for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

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1. Trading for Myles Turner Will Help Anthony Davis Stay Healthy

After winning the 2020 NBA championship in the bubble, the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans thought superstar Anthony Davis was on the verge of taking the baton from LeBron James as the best player on the planet.

Unfortunately, the last two seasons featured Davis and James both taking major steps backward with multiple injuries that limited the games they played with the team losing in a first round exit and missing the playoffs. While much blame for the last two seasons has to go to injuries, the Lakers front office also did a poor job constructing the roster around LeBron and AD, leading to their playing a position up against bigger players last season.

Last season, an undersized Lakers front court struggling to stay healthy, with Davis playing center 76% of the time but missing 42 games to injury while James played center 50% of the time while missing 26 games to injury. While it’s hard to pin Davis and James’ injuries to playing up a position, there’s no question the undersized Lakers lost any positional size advantage they once had and were destroyed on the boards and points in the paint.

The Lakers biggest weakness right now is not having a starting quality modern center who can fill the role Lopez filled for the Bucks. Trading for Myles Turner would go a long way to preserving Davis and James.

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2. Trading for Myles Turner Will Create Spacing for Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis’ dream is to play the three, where he can face up and use his point guard handle and quickness to beat his defender off the dribble and attack the paint for easy layups, dunks, floaters, and step-back jump shots.

The key to optimizing Anthony Davis’ skillset is making sure he is getting the ball where he has a clear advantage over his defender. The reality is he is better off playing in space as a stretch four than in the post as a five. Since the Lakers traded for Davis, they have failed to pair him with a modern center like Turner, who could not only create space for him with his 3-point shooting but also allow him to roam more as a help defender.

During the three seasons Davis has played for the Lakers, the only time he was paired with a stretch five center was in 2020–21 when he played 30 games and 471 minutes with Marc Gasol and posted an 11.1 net rating. Marc Gasol shot 41% on 2.3 3PA per game during that season. To compare, Myles Turner shot just 33.3% on 4.4 3PA per game while Damian Jones shot 34.5% on 0.5 3PA per game and Bryant shot 28.6% on 1.6 3PA per game.

Bottom line, neither Jones or Bryant have enough 3-point gravity to create needed spacing for Anthony Davis and LeBron James. If the Lakers want spacing for AD and LeBron, then they need to trade for Myles Turner.

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3. Trading for Myles Turner Will Give Lakers Elite Rim Protection

Turner has averaged 2.3 blocks and 0.7 steals per game over his seven seasons with the Indiana Pacers. He led the league in blocked shots the last two seasons, posting 2.8 blocks last season and 3.4 blocks the previous year.

When you combine Turner’s and Davis’ stats, they have 5.3 blocks per game last season and 5.0 blocks per game the previous season. No duo on the same team in modern pro basketball history has averaged over 5.0 blocks. The combination of Turner and Davis would enable the Lakers to put a lid on the basket when both were on the court and have elite rim protection for 48 minutes per game by making sure Turner or Davis was on the court.

While the value of centers in the NBA is at an all-time low because teams can play them off the floor by going small, the Lakers with Anthony Davis on the roster are the perfect NBA team to start Myles Turner at stretch five. The versatility of having Turner and Davis to anchor the defense would make the Lakers the toughest defensive team in the entire league, which is the key to the purple-and-gold winning their 18th NBA championship.

Myles Turner on the roster gives the Lakers the ability to play big or small with a lethal jumbo lineup to go with their deadly small-ball-on-steroids lineups with Anthony Davis at center that was dominant in the bubble.

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4. Trading for Myles Turner Lets Anthony Davis Be Wing Stopper

The biggest advantage of trading for Myles Turner to play center full-time would be freeing superstar Anthony Davis to become the Lakers’ lock down wing stopper on defense, filling the team’s need for a big wing defender.

There’s no question Anthony Davis can guard all five positions at all three levels of the court: in the post, in the midrange, and beyond the arc. Trading for Turner finally allows the Lakers to best utilize superstar Anthony Davis. With Turner playing the five, LeBron James and Anthony Davis can then play the three and four. The problem is the last thing the Lakers want is for 38-year old LeBron James to be chasing after wing scorers off of screens.

The smarter move is to have James and Davis swap positions. Let the younger Davis be the bigger wing defender the Lakers desperately need while allowing the older and slower LeBron to save energy at the four. Basically, trading for Turner enables the Lakers to move Davis to the three to take advantage of his elite 1-on-1 individual defense while keeping 38-year old LeBron James at the four to prevent more wear-and-tear.

Dedicating Anthony Davis to become the Lakers wing stopper would plug a major hole in the Lakers defensive strategy and would enable AD to make the leap to replace LeBron James as the Lakers #1 player and top superstar.