Re-evaluating Lakers’ New Starters And Likely Trade Deadline Strategy

While the Lakers rode their new defense-first jumbo starting lineup to an impressive road win over the rising Thunder, the way they won earned praise and respect but also raised legitimate concerns over sustainability.

The problem is the Lakers simply can’t count on LeBron James having a 40/7/7 game, Davis a 26/11/7 game, and the team hitting 16 of their 32 shots from deep every game. That’s simply not a sustainable winning formula.
But for a Lakers team struggling to rediscover the identity that carried them to the conference finals last year, turning to LeBron to play point guard and doubling down on size and defense could be their best option.

While just one game, last night’s statement win over the Thunder was a ‘must win’ for the Lakers and to the team’s credit, everybody in the new and narrowed 8-man rotation played very well and contributed to the victory.
Despite the win, the Lakers still need more playmaking and volume 3-point shooting in the starting lineup and a quality backup center when AD rests. Those are upgrades that will likely force the Lakers to make trades.

Most pundits project the Lakers waiting until late January or early February to make a trade when more players will be available but L.A. needs better starting shooting and playmaking and backup center rim protection now.
Unless they’re waiting for a player who can’t be traded until January 15 or they’re planning to trade Austin Reaves or Rui Hachimura, there’s just no reason for the Lakers to wait any longer. They need a big trade right now.

Let’s look at why the Lakers changed to this new starting lineup, what worked for the new lineup last night, and what’s worrisome and needs to be addressed via the trade market to build a championship starting lineup.

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WHY THE CHANGE?

The primary reasons the Lakers opted to insert Jarred Vanderbilt into the starting lineup to replace D’Angelo Russell was to allow LeBron James to play point guard and enable the Lakers starters to ‘switch everything.’

The situation that triggered Ham’s decision to turn to LeBron James at the point was D’Angelo Russell’s poor play over the last 6 games and news that backup point guard Gabe Vincent is now likely to miss a couple of months.
Despite spending the past 3 years looking for point guard to save LeBron wear-and-tear, the Lakers have now apparently decided to put the ball back in his hands and let him take complete ‘hands on’ charge of their offense.

Last night, we saw how important it is for the Lakers to have the ball in LeBron James hands as the team not only played their best game of the young season but also splashed 16 threes and a season high 37 assists.
While the Lakers new starting lineup will have to be adjusted before the trade deadline to add shooting and playmaking, it’s already transformed the Lakers’ offense by focusing every possession on James and Davis.

Switchability was also the other major reason why the Lakers went to the jumbo starting lineup because it would allow them to ‘switch everything,’ which makes it much easier for defenders to stay in front of their man.
Russell and Reaves were ultimately were sent to the bench because they were targeted by other teams due to their poor defense. Unfortunately, there’s no way DLo or Austin could play in a ‘switch everything’ defense.

The strategy behind the Lakers’ new defense-first jumbo starting lineup is to put the ball in the hands of LeBron James and let him control the offense while allowing the team’s big and long defense to ‘switch everything.’

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WHAT’S WORKED?

The major benefit the Lakers got from their new defense-first jumbo lineup was a renewed focus on getting the ball into the able hands of their two superstars and letting them score or distribute the ball as needed.

While it’s only one game, the new starting lineup certainly unleashed LeBron James and Anthony Davis to dominate and be their best, posting a combined total of 66 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.
With James at point, the Lakers offense was a juggernaut the Thunder just could not handle, shooting 52.2% from the field, 50.0% from deep on 32 threes, 82.2% from the line on 23 free throws, with a season high 37 assists.

With James now calling the shots for the offense and Davis calling them for the defense, the Lakers finally appear to be in sync as to how they’re going to win games. The Lakers are focusing on optimizing their two superstars.
We saw last night that the Lakers have recommitted to using their defense to trigger their offense, winning the fast break points over OKC by 10 points. No more Russell slow-walking the ball up court after made basket.

While the stats are too small at this point to be meaningful, the new lineup and the team’s performance in a ‘must win’ game has raised Lakers fans’ hopes that they can somehow parlay tomorrow’s game into another win.
The Celtics will be a big challenge for the Lakers but at least it will be a home game. If we can beat OKC and Boston back-to-back, it would be a major statement like beating the Bucks and Clippers back-to-back in 2020.

The Lakers’ new defense-first jumbo starting lineup worked to perfection last night, allowing LeBron as point guard to take over and direct the team offensively while the lineup’s size and length shrunk the court defensively.

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WHAT’S NEEDED?

While the Lakers new starting lineup unleashed LeBron and AD to have elite superstar games, the Lakers still need a volume 3-point shooting 3&D wing, a second big to play with and backup AD, and a backup point guard.

These are all roster needs that the Lakers will not be able to solve internally and will likely be forced to trade for players to fill those needs. The players the Lakers are most likely to trade at this point are Russell and Vincent.
Unless the Lakers are willing to trade Reaves or Hachimura or are waiting to trade for a player who can’t be traded until January 15, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be looking to make an immediate trade to fix their roster.

The challenge for the Lakers is how do you solve the lack of shooting and playmaking from a starting lineup of James, Reddish, Prince, Vanderbilt, and Davis? Whomever you add will have to be able to ‘switch everything.’
How would Zach LaVine fit at shooting guard next to LeBron James? How about Trae Young or Dejounte Murray or Alex Caruso? What does the Lakers new defense-first jumbo starting lineup tell you about their plans?

The Lakers new starting lineup desperately needs a volume 3-point shooter whom opposing teams will respect and game plan and for and whose size and defense will enable him to effectively ‘switch everything’ on defense.
The Lakers could do this by replacing Vanderbilt with a second defense-first big like Daniel Gafford or a second offense-first big like Kelly Olynyk. Either could survive in a ‘switch everything’ defensive environment.

Look for the Lakers to make moves in early January to fix their pressing roster needs by trading for a starting big to pair with and backup Davis, a starting volume 3-point shooting 3&D wing, and a backup point guard.