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Buddy Hield

Blockbuster Russ Trade With Pacers On Hold As Lakers Still Chase Kyrie

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With the draft, free agency, and summer league in our rear view mirror, the Lakers’ Russell Westbrook trade strategy is finally unveiled: Plan A is Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris. Plan B is Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.

The good news is the Lakers apparently now have a viable backup trade partner in the Indiana Pacers willing to trade Buddy Hield and Myles Turner for Russell Westbrook and both of L.A.’s available first round picks. The Lakers have offered a package of picks including one first round pick. The Pacers have countered they want two first round picks and will reopen negotiations if the Lakers increase their offer to two first round picks.

Conjecture is the Lakers still prefer Kyrie and a shooter from the Nets over Buddy Hield and Myles Turner because championships are won by superstars and Kyrie is a superstar while Buddy and Myles are role players. They’re also going to need LeBron to sign the 2-year extension when he is eligible on August 4th. Trading for Kyrie would likely guarantee LeBron signs the extension. Who knows if he would sign for Hield and Turner.

Besides wanting a backup in case they cannot complete a Westbrook for Irving trade with the Nets, the Lakers want to create leverage with the Nets by letting Brooklyn know they may lose their only Irving trade partner. Obviously, the big question right now is how long should the Lakers be willing to wait for the Nets to finally agree to trade Kyrie Irving and either Joe Harris or Seth Curry to the Lakers for Westbrook and Horton-Tucker.

August 4th could be a key date as that’s when James and the Lakers can open negotiations on a possible 2-year extension. Right now, James and the Lakers can’t discuss or negotiate the extension or be guilty of tampering. Once James and the Lakers can legally discuss his extension, they can determine whether to continue to wait for a Kyrie Irving trade or take the bird in hand and close the deal with the Pacers for Hield and Turner.

Still unknown is whether the Lakers will be willing to trade both of their available draft picks. Right now, Jeanie Buss has said they will only do that for a deal that returns them to championship caliber, like trading for Kyrie. When you weigh all of the pluses and minuses, you can make a good case that trading for Hield and Turner could ultimately be a smarter move both in the long and short term for Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the end, this is LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, which means shooting for the moon and waiting as long as it takes to get Kyrie Irving, and not settling for second best until there is no chance of getting him.

Should Lakers Go for Superstar Big 3 or Deeper Roster for James and Davis?

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The Los Angeles Lakers seem focused on trading Russell Westbrook to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving and committing the franchise to a second straight season where most of their salary cap went to three superstars.

With the Nets paralyzed over what to do with Kevin Durant, progress on a Westbrook for Irving trade has stalled, which could be the perfect time for the Lakers to pause and consider whether trading for Kyrie is the best path. While there’s a logic and symmetry to the Lakers and Nets swapping problem superstars, committing all of your salary cap to three players makes it difficult to build a championship roster around your superstars.

The Nets’ implosion opened a door to a seemingly impossible gift from the basketball gods, a chance to dump Russell Westbrook and receive in return superstar point guard Kyrie Irving and elite shooting guard Joe Harris. Frankly, the Lakers and LeBron were so excited about the chance to swap Russ for two legitimate starters, including a superstar and an elite 3-point shooter that they may not have thoroughly considered their other options.

So let’s compare the Lakers’ rotations if they traded Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and two unprotected first round picks for Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris or Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, T.J. McConnell, and Patrick Beverley.

1. Trade for Irving and Harris

The above trade sends Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, and the Lakers 2027 and 2029 unprotected first round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for superstar point guard Kyrie Irving and elite two guard Joe Harris.

Irving would immediately become the Lakers’ starting point guard and the team’s lead scorer and playmaker, while Harris would become the starting shooting guard and needed high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter. While Irving, Harris, James, and Davis is a great foursome, the starting center position would be between two young unproven centers, with 27-year old Damian Jones likely beating out 24-year old Thomas Bryant.

That would give the Lakers a starting five of Irving, Harris, James, Davis, and Jones with backups of Nunn, Reaves, Brown Jr, Johnson, and Bryant and reserves of Christie, Walker IV, Toscano-Anderson, and Gabriel.

Is that a championship starting lineup and rotation? Assuming James, Davis, and Irving all are healthy and Kyrie is on his best contract year behavior, the Lakers should be able to compete for a championship again. The biggest question marks with this superstar laden roster is whether Jones and Bryant can provide the 3-point gravity to help the team’s spacing or the shot blocking and rim protection to anchor the team’s defense.

Point guard and center are where Darvin Ham wants the Lakers’ best two defenders. They’re also key positions for spacing on offense. The problem is Kyrie Irving and Damian Jones are not Jrue Holiday or Brook Lopez. 

2. Trades for Turner, Hield, McConnell, and Beverley

The first trade sends Westbrook and the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 unprotected first round draft picks to the Pacers for Turner, Hield, and McConnell. The second trade sends Horton-Tucker and Gabriel to the Jazz for Beverley.

Turner would immediately become the Lakers’ starting stretch five center, Hield the starting shooting guard and volume 3-point shooter, Beverley the starting point guard and lead defender, and McConnell backup point guard. What makes this starting lineup and rotation better than one with Irving and Harris is having elite defenders in Patrick Beverley and Myles Turner manning the critical point guard and center positions in Ham’s defense.

That would give Lakers a starting five of Beverley, Hield, James, Davis, and Turner with backups of McConnell, Reaves, Brown Jr, Johnson, and Jones and reserves of Nunn, Christie, Walker IV, Toscano-Anderson, and Bryant.

Is this a championship starting lineup and rotation? While it lacks three superstars, it has Beverley at point guard and Turner at stretch center, both of whom can fill the key two-way roles of Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez. What we’re seeing is the same challenge the team faced last season, which is having to make a philosophical decision whether three superstars or two superstars with a more talented starting lineup and more depth on bench.

The Lakers need to stop chasing players because of their name and instead focus on adding players to the team whose offensive and defensive skillsets better complement and unleash LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

How a Pacers Trade Solves the Lakers’ Needs for Size, Shooting, and Defense

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In what could be the opportunity the Los Angeles Lakers have been hoping for, Myles Turner appears likely to play out the last year of his contract rather than sign an extension which should move the Pacers to trade him.

The Lakers have long had a strong interest in Myles Turner and news that he will not sign an extension to stay with the Indiana Pacers should immediately rekindle the team’s interest in the 26-year old stretch center. Turner is exactly the player the Lakers need so that new head coach Darvin Ham can replicate the four-out, one-in offense his prior team, the Bucks, utilized with superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kris Middleton.

Second First Round Pick Is From 2029, not 2028

With Turner leaving, the odds Indiana decides to trade him to avoid losing him for nothing but the Lakers will need to be extremely aggressive if they hope to win any bidding war with the Hornets and teams coveting him. While it may not be enough, the Lakers should go all-in on a mega deal with the Pacers to trade Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, Nunn, and their 2027 and 2029 unprotected first round draft picks for Turner, Brogdon, and Hield.

While teams rarely remove protection from first round picks, this is one of those opportunities where the Lakers need to turn their 2027 and 2029 first round picks into something extremely special, valuable, and tradeable.

Why the Lakers Make the Trade?

The Lakers are facing a ticking clock as LeBron James’ and Anthony Davis’ championship window appears to be closing as James approaches 38-years old and Davis struggles to remain healthy and effective outside the bubble.

This trade is as perfect as a trade could be for the Lakers as it allows them to swap Russell Westbrook and filler for three legitimate starters with needed size, shooting, and defense to complement James and Davis. With Darvin Ham taking over as the head coach, the Lakers are expected to install the four-out, one-in offense used by his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, to create spacing for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kris Middleton.

The key to the Bucks four-out offense working is having a stretch five center like Brook Lopez to be one of the four players stationed beyond the 3-point line. Other than in the bubble, Anthony Davis is not a proven stretch five. With Davis injured much of last season, the Lakers found themselves being destroyed by huge negative differentials in rebounding and points in the paint due to lineups that were undersized at almost every single position.

The problem is the Lakers lose their positional size advantage when they play LeBron and AD at the four and five. They need a center like Turner to allow James and Davis to dominate smaller players at the three and four. Starting a lineup of 6′ 5″ Malcolm Brogdon, 6′ 4″ Buddy Hield, 6′ 9″ LeBron James, 6′ 10″ Anthony Davis, and 6′ 11″ Myles Turner would give the Lakers the positional size advantage at all five of the positions on the floor.

Removing protection from two first round picks five and seven years from now when LeBron will be gone and Anthony Davis nearing the end of his career is a huge gamble by the Lakers but their only chance to land Turner.

Why the Pacers Make the Trade?

The Pacers need to decide what they’re doing. Are they going to try to completely rebuild from scratch or try to rebuild around Tyrese Haliburton and Isaiah Jackson and remain a playoff team in the Eastern Conference?

With Turner declining to sign an extension, it seems certain the Pacers are going to be looking to trade Turner as well as Brogdon and Hield, who are already on Indiana’s trading block. Pacers will surely not be short of suitors. The Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, and other NBA teams will have significant interest in Turner, who finished among the top two shot blockers in the entire league the past three years and is still only 26-years old.

With the Pacers undergoing a partial rebuild around Haliburton and Jackson, getting two unprotected Lakers first round picks could be attractive to an established and secure general manager like Kevin Pritchard. While the picks are five and seven years away, they’re unprotected for a team that could struggle badly once LeBron retires and Davis ages could make them extremely valuable and tradeable.

Indiana has long been the preferred trading partner for the Lakers, partly because of the players they have who are available in trade and partly because they are a franchise with a very stable front office situation. Unlike many genera managers, Pritchard will likely still be running the Indiana Pacers front office when the Lakers 2027 and 2029 first round picks will be used, although they will likely be traded multiple times.

Indiana not only gets two Lakers’ post LeBron unprotected first round picks that could be extremely valuable but also gets a future young star in Horton-Tucker and saves $65 million on Brogdon’s and Hield’s contracts.

How the Four ‘Right’ Players Could Transform the Lakers to Champions!

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Last season was a brutal reminder of how important picking the ‘right’ players is to success in professional sports. Rob Pelinka will have to do a better job this summer than he did last summer if the Lakers are to win.

Unfortunately, finding the ‘right’ players is difficult and more of an ‘art’ than ‘science,’ requiring a lethal instinct for player strengths and weaknesses and ability to envision how the different players will fit as a team. More than anything, Pelinka’s failure to properly assess the risk and cost of the Westbrook experiment failing was the kind of mistake that ends careers. He’s lucky he will get a second chance, even if it will be challenging.

Here are the Lakers’ player needs this summer: (1) point guard to run the offense, (2) shooting guard to space the floor, (3) modern physical center to protect the rim, and (4) defensive forward with size to guard bigger wings. Importantly, for these four players to be the ‘right’ players, three of them must be able to space the floor with 3-point shooting and three of them must be plus defenders capable of guarding multiple positions and levels.

Last season, the Lakers filled those needs with Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, DeAndre Jordan, and Talen Horton-Tucker. Unfortunately, Westbrook bombed, Jordan was cut, Nunn never played, and Horton-Tucker regressed. This season, with luck and blessings of the basketball gods, the four ‘right’ players filling those needs could be Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Nic Claxton, a major upgrade of Lakers’ roster.

The Lakers should be able to get Brogdon and Hield in a salary dump from the Pacers for Westbrook and 2027 first rounder, Hartenstein with their TP or NT MLE, and Claxton from the Nets for Horton-Tucker and 2029 first rounder. That’s 2 players and 2 picks from the Lakers for 4 players. They swap Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, 2027 first round pick, and 2029 first round pick for Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Nic Claxton.

So let’s take a closer look at what each of these four new players brings offensively and defensively and why they’re the ‘right’ picks to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis and transform the Lakers into a champs.

1. Malcolm Brogdon, Point Guard

Malcolm Brogdon, 29-years old, 6′ 5″, 229 lbs
19.1/5.1/5.9 and 44.8%/31.2% on 5.2 3PA/85.6

While trading for a difference-making point guard to reduce LeBron James’ on-ball and playmaking workload didn’t work with Dennis Schroeder or Russell Westbrook, trading for Malcolm Brogdon should be a winning move.

Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte are the Pacers’ backcourt of the future, which makes Malcolm Brogdon and his 3 years and $57.6 million an ideal chip to swap with Buddy Hield for Russell Westbrook’s expiring contract. Indiana has no interest in Westbrook as a player but are willing to take on his 1 year and $47.1 million to avoid Brogdon’s 3 years and $57.6 million and Hield’s 2 years and $39.1 million to save $49.6 million in long-term salaries.

One of the appeals to the Lakers of trading Westbrook and a first round pick to the Indiana Pacers is the opportunity to get a proven starting-quality two-way point guard like Malcolm Brogdon back as part of the trade return package. While the Lakers have to gamble Malcolm can stay healthy, they’re getting an All-Star point guard who is an elite 3-point shooter and playmaker with the size and physicality to defend multiple positions.

Brogdon is the ‘right pick’ for the Lakers to trade for as their new starting point guard. His size, 3-point shooting, and solid defense elevate him over other trade candidates like Terry Rozier, Derrick Rose, or Kemba Walker.

2. Buddy Hield, Shooting Guard

Buddy Hield, 29-years old, 6′ 4″, 220 lbs
15.6/4.4/2.8 and 44.7%/36.2% on 8.5 3PA/89.6%

Buddy Hield to the Lakers should have and almost did happen last summer but the Lakers changed course at the last minute and traded for Westbrook. Now, in a sweet shift of fate, the Lakers may have a chance for a do-over.

Most NBA pundits were surprised the Lakers did not go through with a proposed trade with the Kings for Hield last summer as he is the perfect high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter to complement LeBron and AD. Hield, part of Indy’s bounty from the Sabonis trade to Sacramento, makes too much to come off the bench. With Haliburton and Duarte set as their backcourt of the future, the Pacers need to trade Hield and Brogdon.

While not an elite defender, Buddy Hield has the size, strength, and quickness to be a plus defender, especially in a switch-everything defense with rim protection. Hield averaged 0.9 steals and 0.3 blocks last season. Pairing the 6′ 4″ Hield with the 6′ 5″ point guard Brogdon gives the Lakers a big high-scoring backcourt with the range to rain threes, willingness to share the ball, and size and toughness to play physical defense.

Buddy Hield is the ‘right’ pick as the starting shooting guard for the Lakers because his high volume, high percentage 3-point shooting will create more space than candidates like Eric Gordon, Evan Fournier, or Kelly Oubre, Jr.

3. Isaiah Hartenstein, Center

Isaiah Hartenstein, 24-years old, 7′ 0″, 250 lbs
8.3/4.9/24 and 62.6%/46.7% on 0.3 3PA/68.9%

There may be no attainable player who could have a greater impact to unleash the beast in superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and help the Lakers become a legitimate contender than Isaiah Hartenstein.

With LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggling to stay healthy in an increasingly physical NBA, the Lakers need to commit to signing a bully-ball modern center who will allow James and Davis to slide down one position. Hartenstein is the perfect fit for what the Lakers need, a mobile young center who can protect the rim and defend out to the 3-point line. In 17.9 minutes per game last season, Isaiah averaged 1.1 blocks and 0.7 steals.

Hartenstein is the Clippers’ version of Malik Monk in that the most they can offer him next season is just $2.3 million, 120% of what he earned last year. Salary cap experts expect Hartenstein to fetch $7 to $8 million this summer. With a little salary cap magic, the Lakers should be able to keep their total payroll under the $155.2 million hard cap, which means they could offer Hartenstein up to the full $10.3 million of their MLE.

After a revolving door of failed ‘rent-a-centers.’ the Lakers have an opportunity this summer to sign Isaiah Hartenstein as their next great center. Hartenstein is the ‘right’ center at the ‘right’ price for the Lakers.

4. Nic Claxton, Power Forward

Nic Claxton, 23-years old, 6′ 11″, 215 lbs
8.7/5.6/0.9 and 67.4%/0.0% on 0.03PA/58.1%

There is no player more in demand in the NBA than a 6′ 8″ to 6′ 10″ mobile forward who can defend bigger wing scorers like Jason Tatum, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, or Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Claxton is defensive jack-of-all-trades in that he can play all three front court positions — small forward, power forward, and center — and defend all five positions at al three levels of the court-paint, midrange, beyond the arc. While a great lob but not shooting threat, Nic gives the Lakers a defensive tool who can protect the rim and defend the perimeter so well he cannot be played off the court like so many traditional low post bigs.

Fortunately for the Lakers, the Nets have too many centers and appear unlikely to want to extend Claxton at this time, which mean they would probably be willing to trade him for Horton-Tucker and a first round pick. Trading for Claxton also gives the Lakers the defensive specialist they need to play any style of basketball, especially during the regular season when the Lakers want to save playing Anthony Davis at the five for the playoffs.

While he can’t stretch the floor, Claxton is the fourth ‘right’ player for the Lakers to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He gives the Lakers an elite defensive center and shut-down wing defender to guard big scorers.

5. Four ‘Right’ Players Transform Lakers into Championship Team

When healthy, no team in the NBA has two better superstars than the Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The problem has always been finding the ‘right’ three players to start alongside their two superstars.

The four new players — Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Nic Claxton— should give LeBron James and Anthony Davis the high volume 3-point shooting and versatile positional size to unleash their games. Brogdon, Hield, Hartenstein, and Claxton should be the best four players on the Lakers after James and Davis. While Brogdon and Hield are 29-years old, 23-year old Hartenstein and Claxton make the Lakers younger.

The Lakers not only traded Russell Westbrook and a first round pick for two quality starters also swapped Talen Horton-Tucker and a first round pick for a starter and signed Hartenstein with their full MLE for a fourth starter. Signing Hartenstein for the full $10.3 million MLE requires the Lakers to be hardcapped for the rest of this season. Being able to stay under the $155.2 million hard cap gives the Lakers another $8.2 million in MLE and BAE.

Here’s a breakdown of how the Lakers get under the NBA hard cap:

Rob Pelinka is facing a difficult challenge to rebuild the Lakers to championship level with few trading chips but there are multiple legitimate rotation players who would transform the Lakers into a contender.

How Rob Pelinka Can Upgrade Lakers’ Starting Lineup to Create Dream Team

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Rob Pelinka needs a big offseason trade to transform the Lakers into a championship team by turning Russell Westbrook’s $47 million expiring contract and a pair of unprotected first round picks into three new starters.

The Lakers need size and athleticism across the board, better perimeter and interior defenders, and more elite shooters who can create their own shots. Specifically, they need three new starters to complement LeBron and AD. Malik Monk, Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, and Wenyen Gabriel are fine young Lakers players but none of them is close to being good enough at this point in their careers to be starters on a legitimate NBA championship team.

The Lakers’ problem is they have more holes to fill than trading chips to spend so they need to find a rebuilding team as trading partner who needs to dump rotation-quality players on long-term contracts to create cap space. Those are the teams for whom Russel Westbrook’s gigantic expiring contract and the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks will have real value. Talen Horton-Tucker’s and Kendrick Nunn’s value is now only as salary filler.

The NBA teams possibly looking to move key rotation players with multiple-year contracts for expiring contracts to free up cap space incudes the Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets, and New York Knicks. The NBA players on those four teams whom the Lakers could target include Pacers’ Turner, Hield, and Brogdon; Hornets’ Hayward, Rozier, and Oubre; Rockets Wood, Gordon, and Wall; and Knicks Randle, Walker, and Reddish.

Here’s what Pelinka needs to do position-by-position and player-by-player this summer to build a better starting lineup that can carry the Los Angeles Lakers to their league-leading 18th NBA championship next season.

1. Point Guard — Find Replacement for Russell Westbrook

The Lakers need a starting quality point guard as part of the return in any trade for Russell Westbrook and Malcolm Brogdon is a better fit than Terry Rozier, John Wall, and Kemba Walker, the other available point guards.

The 29-year old, 6′ 5,” 229 lb Brogdon averaged 19.1/5.1/5.9 in 33.5 mpg while shooting 44.8%/31.2%/85.6% compared to 33-year old, 6′ 3,” 200 lb Westbrook’s 18.5/7.4/7.1 in 34.3 mpg while shooting 34.3%/29.8%/66.7%. Brogdon is a major upgrade over Westbrook in every area. He’s a 37.6% career 3-point shooter with a 2.8 career assist/turnover ratio as playmaker vs Westbrook’s 30.0% career 3-point shooting and 2.0 career assist/turnover.

Besides being a better shooter and more efficient playmaker, Malcolm will be an even bigger upgrade over Russ on defense because he won’t blow rotations or take off plays and is 2″ and 29 lbs bigger and 4 years younger. Finally, Brogdon is locked up for three more seasons at $22.5 million per year which allows the Lakers to stabilize their starting point guard position with a proven player who can shoot, pass, and switch everything on defense.

There’s a potential Westbrook trade with the Pacers where the Lakers get Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield. Because the Lakers need a top quality replacement for Westbrook, the Indiana trade should be a top priority.

2. Shooting Guard — Find Volume Shooter Defenses Respect

Landing Buddy Hield as part of the return from a Russell Westbrook trade would be a rare opportunity to get a mulligan and redo the disastrous trade that, with injuries, derailed the Lakers’ championship hopes this season.

The Lakers were on the verge of trading Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell to the Sacramento Kings for Buddy Hield last summer before they changed their minds at the last minute and opted to trade for Russell Westbrook. Suddenly, with the Pacers interested in a salary dump of Brogdon and Hield in return for Westbrook’s $47 million expiring contract, the Lakers have an opportunity to put together a dramatically bigger and better backcourt.

Buddy Hield is the high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter the Lakers need to stretch defenses to prevent teams from packing the paint and create spacing for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to attack the basket. This season, Buddy Hield averaged 15.6/4.4/2.8 on 35.6 mpg while shooting 44.7%/36.2%/88.6%. Buddy’s a career 39.8% 3-point shooter who has taken more than 8.5 threes per game over the last four NBA seasons.

The Lakers top trading partner priority this summer should be the Indiana Pacers because they have a legitimate starting quality point guard and shooting guard whom they’re willing to trade for Russ’ expiring contract.

3. Small Forward — Find Elite Three-Level Wing Defender

The Lakers’ greatest need this past season was for a legitimate 3&D small forward with the size and power to defend the bigger wing scorers the team faces like Kawhi Leonard, Pau George, Jason Tatum, and Kevin Durant.

We saw how frustrating it was for the Lakers this season trying to have 6′ 4″ Talen Horton-Tucker or 6′ 6″ Stanley Johnson trying to stop bigger wins who take smaller defenders into the paint for easy-to-make midrange jumpers. Bigger 3&D wing defenders are now the most desired addition on every NBA team’s roster. They’re a rare commodity in today’s NBA which is why the Lakers need to move Anthony Davis to small forward beginning this year.

While the injury prone Davis has often complained about having to endure the banging and physicality of playing the five, his dream as an NBA player is to actually to play small forward. Time has come to let AD live his dream. Starting Davis at the three would reduce the wear-and-tear Anthony would have to deal with playing the five full-time and give the Lakers the ultimate wing defender, a 6′ 11,” 250 lb athletic marvel who defend all three levels.

Moving Anthony Davis to starting small forward is part of a rebuilding the front court of the Lakers so they can play a modern version of the small-ball-on-steroids style that dominated the championship in the bubble.

4. Power Forward — Find Bully Ball Stretch Four

The other part of rebuilding the Lakers front court for next season to be more like the small-ball-on-steroids lineups that won the championship is playing aging superstar LeBron James as the starting bully ball stretch four.

The switch of AD to the three and LeBron to the four is not only designed to optimize Davis’ and James’ skillsets but also give the Lakers a dominant size advantage over opponents at every position. Positional size is a to priority. Building a roster with a starting lineup that consists of a 6′ 5″ point guard, a 6′ 4″ shooting guard, a 6′ 10″ small forward, a 6′ 9″ power forward, and a 6′ 11″ center will give the Lakers the flexibility to go super big or super small.

Playing LeBron at the four instead of the three also keeps James at 37-years old from wearing himself out chasing bigger wing scorers around screens and allows him to take advantage of his emerging 3-point shooting prowess. The 6′ 11″ Davis with his unicorn size and length could be more valuable to the Lakers as a 3&D small forward who can shutdown bigger wing scorers than as a small ball center who protects the rim and stretches the floor.

Moving LeBron to the four is playing him where his game can best take advantage of the skillset he’s developed as a 19-year, 37-year old veteran. Today’s LeBron James has become the quintessential bully ball stretch four.

5. Center — Find Rim-Protecting Modern Center

The key to the Lakers supersizing their lineups with 6′ 10,” 250 lb Anthony Davis at the three and 6′ 9,” 250 lb LeBron James at the four is the ability to find a starting center who can protect the rim and stretch the floor.

The player the Lakers need is the Pacers’ Myles Turner, a 26-year old 6′ 11,” 250 lb center who led the league with 2.8 and 3.4 blocked shots per game last two seasons and a 34.9% career 3-point shooting on 4.4 shots per game. The Lakers desperately miss the rim protection, dunks, and rebounds they got during the championship run from traditional low post centers Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee in addition to small ball center Anthony Davis.

Myles Turner not only gives the Lakers better shot blocking than they had during their 2020 championship run but also the benefit of being a stretch five center who can stretch the floor rather than being stuck in the paint. Turner will allow the team to play a modern version of a monster three bigs lineup with three 250 lb front court players or go small with the Lakers’ unique small-ball-on-steroids attack with Anthony Davis at the five.

The Lakers need to expand Hield and Brogdon for Westbrook trade to Hield, Brogdon, and Turner for Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and the Lakers unprotected post LeBron James 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks.