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.
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