Jamie Sweet is here to talk his all-time Top 10 Lakers PLUS: – Which Lakers Player will make the biggest difference after The Big Three? – Early thoughts on Western Conference Contenders and Eastern Conference teams that can challenge Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
Lakers Fast Break- Which Player will make the biggest difference after The Big 3 with Jamie Sweet!
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August 17, 2021 1 Comment
Normally, you would kind of figure the guys who were paid the most would be the players who would get the starting nod and the minutes. If true, then the two players who make the most after LeBron, AD, and Russ are THT ($10M/Yr) and Nunn ($5M/Yr).
That would make the Lakers play-who-gets-paid starting lineup to be Russ, Nunn, THT, James, and Davis. An interesting lineup that might be short on shooting unless Talen suddenly starts raining threes. At any rate, hard for the role player who would be the biggest difference maker not to be one of the two role players who would start.
My gut feeling says Nunn could be the difference maker because I think he has the talent and athleticism to shine as the starting shooting guard. Since he’s also one of the few prospects for backup point guard, it’s possible Vogel would prefer him in that role in the event we don’t sign Rondo or IT to backup Russ.
I also like Ellington a lot and think he is probably going to be our best 3-point shooter. His ability to reset himself after being chased off a three reminds me of Steph. Getting open for more threes is a critical component to being a elite volume 3-point shooter. Wayne could easily win the starting shooting guard slot.
Finally, there are several candidates to start at small forward. While he’s only 6′ 4,” Kent Bazemore is my pick to start at small forward. His mix of elite 3-point shooting and solid perimeter defense and length make him a perfect fit.
Bazemore’s competition to start at small forward is Trevor Ariza, who looks to be in great shape, and Talen Horton-Tucker, who also looks to have lost weight. Ariza has the size while THT has the big contract and both will be in the mix to start at the three.
Bottom line, we’re going to need to see how guys look in camp to determine who’s going to be the most valuable non-superstar on this Lakers team. The good part is there are lots of viable candidates to consider.