Jaxson Hayes

5 Things: Lakers Finding A Way

November 20, 2024 By Jamie Sweet 2 Comments

While we’re still in the “too early to form a concrete opinion” stage of the season, there are some trends in the Lakers play we can identify and analyze. Ball movement, offensive flow: good. Defensive intensity and rebounding: mediocre, especially on the break where it gets downright bad. Let’s take a look at some of the ways the Lakers could maybe start to improve on the solid early-season foundation they’ve put down.

Getting buckets. As of this post the Lakers are the #4 ranked offense based on overall offensive rating. In the NBA, “offensive rating” refers to a statistic that measures how many points a team scores per 100 possessions, essentially representing their offensive efficiency over the course of a game; a higher offensive rating indicates a more potent offense. The shot profile is balanced, we’re #11 in Assist % (which is pretty solid considering we have 2 elite iso players in AD and LeBron), and we’re improving our assist to turnover ratio by the game (we currently sit at #5) which means we’re maximizing our possessions by not coughing it up but still using the pass effectively, and we’re not addicted to three point shooting nor are we treating it like a toxic asset. We’re #8 in points in the paint which we should be considering that our 2 best players rely on paint points. We’re #9 in scoring in transition. We’re right in my personal sweet spot for three point FGAs at 33.6 and improving on our accuracy from the beginning of the season at 37.4% (making 12.6). In short, when we lose, offense isn’t the problem.
Getting stops. This isn’t quite as rosy of a picture but the good thing is some of this is very fixable. Our net defensive rating (how many points we give up/100 possessions) is bad, we’re 25th in the league and that’s with AD playing at a high level. Most of that stat was based on the first iteration of the starting five which included D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in the back court. I’d be curious to see what that number looks like with another 5-10 games of Cam Reddish starting in DLO’s place. Swapping Cam for DLO in the starting five has brought balance to both the bench and starting units, balance we sorely need if we want to get to at least middle of the pack defensively. Cam has been ultra solid on D and taken the open shots that come his way on offense without pressing. Early on, when we were a top 5 or so turnover team, we were giving up a lot more fastbreak points and points off of turnovers. We’ve cleaned up the points of TO’s…but we’re second to last in giving up points on the break. In some ways that’s a little more worrisome as it means teams are just running at us and we’re not adjusting very well off of makes or misses. The good thing is we can work on that as a team and get better on getting back. LeBron will not be a part of that effort and, based on his age and usage, this may be the biggest concern for the regular season. Come playoff time, when the game slows down, I expect this to matter a little less. Depending on matchups.
The Knecht Effect. After starting the first 8 or 9 games slowly DK4 has come on like gangbusters and is shooting lights out (last night was awesome against the Jazz). Inserting him into the starting 5 along with Cam has led to some of our best basketball and really opens up the door to a debate about if Rui should go back to starting once he’s available. I think the sample size is too small, it’s early in the season and DK hasn’t really been scouted, yet, so there’s still a lot of unknown factors but it’s certainly a conversation worth having. Starting DK (a rookie) would normally come with some defensive ability questions but, while he won’t be in any kind of NBA All Defense convos he can hold his own because he moves his feet rather than reaches. That in and of itself is huge. Add that a willingness to crash the glass at least as much as Rui does and you have a pretty nice problem for the coaches to unravel. I think that DK is probably the better shooter in that his release is quicker and he’s not shy about putting it up but both are efficient and you get a better iso/post player in Hachimura. Ideally a 2nd unit of Hachimura and DLO would be the way to go as that opens up a lot of options to run through both those guys whose overall skill sets are wasted a little bit as starters with our current roster composition. Both DLO and Rui can get their own shots in a variety of ways, strengths that augment the team more if Cam (or possibly Vando when he’s ready) and DK4 can serve as role-players in the starting five. The fact that Dalton has made this into a conversation is awesome.
The factor that affects everything and every team: injuries. With Wood, Hayes, Rui and Vando out one would expect the lakers to be at a disadvantage. Instead we’ve gone on a 6 game winning streak since our disastrous road trip. Getting those guys back is important and will ultimately make the Lakers better. Since they’re out it’s opened the door for more playing time and a starting spot for Cam and DK4 which has been a revelation on both ends of the court for the reasons above and also opened up some PT for Koloko. I like his energy and he competes well but there’s no denying this guy is both raw and rusty. I don’t need him to shoot threes, either, get good at the three things you need to be good at: rim protection, rebounding and screening. Do those well and you open a lot of doors for the team and us to feel more confident about potentially trading Hayes at some point. Other than that it’s been nice to see LBJ playing in every game so far and to see AD managing his five falls/game and eye injury well.
Wish the Emirates Cup was a little later in the season. We’re undefeated in Cup games dating back to it’s inception. Need more of ’em lol.

Four Possible Championship-Caliber Los Angeles Lakers Starting Lineups

September 22, 2023 By LakerTom 6 Comments

The new and improved version of the Los Angeles Lakers start training camp with 6 players potentially competing for the 2 remaining starting positions alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves.

Gabe Vincent with his superior defense and better playoff performance should win the Lakers’ starting point guard job over lame duck D’Angelo Russell, who will almost certainly be moved before the trade deadline. Unless Reaves fails his early season audition to become the team’s next starting point guard, there’s no way the Lakers go into the playoffs next June with Dlo at point. Lakers will finish season with new point guard.

That leaves Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Christian Wood as the 4 players who’ll be competing to be the Lakers’ fifth starter next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Gabe Vincent.
Each potential fifth starter has their strengths. Vanderbilt would give the Lakers their best defensive lineup, Wood their best offensive lineup, Hayes their biggest front court, and Hachimura their most versatile fivesome.

Looming over the intense competition to start is newly extended superstar Anthony Davis’ continued preference to play power forward and renewed request not to play as many minutes at center this season as the last two. While Anthony Davis wants to play the four, LeBron James likely needs to play the four, which is why the Lakers are also considering two starting lineups where James plays the four and two where Davis plays the four.

There’s also competition within the competition as Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura fight to be the starting small forward while Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood battle to win the starting and backup center jobs. Training camp and preseason will ultimately determine whether the Lakers open the season with a traditional starting lineup with Vanderbilt or Hachimura or a two-bigs starting lineup with Hayes or Wood at the five.

While the Lakers are likely to start the season with either Vanderbilt or Hachimura as the fifth starter, there will be constant pressure during the season to give Hayes and/or Wood their inevitable opportunity to start.
It’s entirely possible that we will see a progression where the Lakers start the season with Vanderbilt as the fifth starter, then change to Hachimura, then change to Hayes, and finally ending with Wood as the fifth starter.

So let’s take a deeper dive into the pros and cons of the four possible championship-caliber Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineups featuring Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, or Christian Wood.

1. The ‘Jarred Vanderbilt’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Jarred Vanderbilt’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, Vanderbilt, James, and Davis should be the Lakers’ strongest defensive lineup as it includes the best defender at every one of the five positions on the team.

Gabe Vincent at point guard, Austin Reaves at shooting guard, Jarred Vanderbilt at small forward, LeBron James at power forward, and Anthony Davis at center are each the best defender on the team at their position. Darvin Ham is a defense first coach so it’s not a stretch to imagine him deciding to start his best defensive team and to give Jarred Vanderbilt the opportunity to improve his offense performance and remain a starter.

Vanderbilt was a major factor in the Lakers post trade deadline finish to make the playoffs and was rewarded with a 4-year $48 million extension despite struggling to stay on the court in the playoffs due to his offense. The Lakers had Vando working 1–on-1 with Phil Handy all summer to improve his 3-point shot and back-to-the-basket game. He apparently has also grown taller over the last summer and now claims to be 6′ 11.”

How the additional height affects his game offensively and defensively will be one of the top stories in camp. If Vando can raise his 3-point shooting from 30% to 36%, he could easily lock up the starting small forward job.
The Lakers and Vanderbilt were smart to wait to sign the extension so he would not be eligible to be traded until next summer. That gives Vando and the Lakers more time for him to work on his offense and overall game.

Having said that, if the Lakers do give Vanderbilt an opportunity to start, he’ll likely also be on a short leash because they have three other possible championship-caliber starting lineups to whom they could quickly turn.

2. The ‘Rui Hachimura’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Rui Hachimura’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis is the favorite to start the season as it gives the Lakers needed size and shooting but also allows LeBron to play power forward.

After showing he was capable of banging bodies with Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Finals, Hachimura has worked hard on slimming down in anticipation of playing more small forward the coming season.
At 6′ 8″ with a 7′ 2″ wingspan, Rui has the versatility to play down or up a position. In the playoffs, he showed he could play up and bang bodies with a five as well as play down and guard smaller and quicker wing threes.

Critically, Rui playing the three allows LeBron to play power forward, which is the position he is best suited to defend at this point in his career. The last thing the Lakers want is LeBron chasing wings around screens. Starting Hachimura is also a more versatile and innovative way for the Lakers to play two-bigs. While Rui’s best as a four, he can play down to three or up to five. Rui, LeBron, and Anthony can three, four, or five.

The big question is which Rui Hachimura will the Lakers see this season? Will it be the player they traded for who had an excellent finish to the regular season or the player emerged as a potential star in the playoffs?
The answer is probably somewhere in the middle but with untapped upside as Darvin Ham, Phil Handy, and this young Lakers’ coaching staff seems to have a talent for figuring out how to grow and develop young players.

Right now, Rui Hachimura is the poster child for the great success the Lakers’ young coaching staff has had in turning around project players. If Rui gets a chance to start, he could easily turn it into his permanent job.

3. The ‘Jaxson Hayes’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Jaxson Hayes’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, James, Davis, and Hayes would give the Lakers’ their biggest front court with Haves at the five and Davis at the four but would require James to play and defend the three.

While it’s easier for the Lakers to start Vanderbilt or Hachimura, players from last season’s team who could allow James to not have to play the three, pressure will ultimately grow to start two bigs so Davis can play the four. Before they even had an opportunity to sign Christian Wood, the Lakers had penciled in Jaxson Hayes as the likely starting center in a two-bigs lineup that allowed Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward.

There’s a good argument that Jaxson Hayes is the better candidate to start next to Anthony Davis in a Lakers’ two-bigs lineup than Christian Wood because Darvin Ham would prefer his defense over the latter’s offense.
Just as Christian Wood is insurance against Anthony Davis getting injured, he’s also better suited to be AD’s backup than Jaxson Hayes, who does not have the offensive chops to score at all three levels like Wood can do.

Jaxson Hayes is viewed by the Lakers as a traditional defensive oriented center like Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee, which essentially makes him the perfect candidate to fill the same regular season role they each filled. Late last season, the Lakers suddenly saw a sea change in how the team performs when one of their superstars rests. For the first time, they lost the minutes Anthony Davis rested but not the minutes LeBron James rested.

Starting Jaxson Hayes would not only allow Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward position but also allow Christian Wood to come off the bench and give the Lakers an able replacement when AD rests.

4. The ‘Christian Wood’ Starting Lineup

The ‘Christian Wood’ starting lineup with Vincent, Reaves, James, Davis, and Wood should be the Lakers’ strongest offensive lineup as it includes the best shooters and scorers at every one of the five positions on the team.

Ultimately, this could be the Lakers most dangerous starting lineup as it would boast both dominating size with a Wood, Davis, and James front court and high volume 3-point shooting with Vincent, Reaves, and Wood. While Wood is the perfect backup for Davis, there’s also a good argument his greatest value could be playing alongside Anthony Davis because of his ability to complement him by spacing the court to free him to attack.

Christian Wood at the five and Anthony Davis at the four would give the Lakers one of the most versatile and dangerous front court duos in the league with two players who can both score and defend at all three levels. Wood will have to prove he can pay attention to defense and become a team-first player who fits the Lakers culture and personality. Once he does that and earns Ham’s trust, he will quickly become the Lakers fifth starter.

Wood is in many ways the perfect fit to play both with and without Davis. Since the Lakers signed him to a 1+1 contract with a second year player option, the the NT MLE would be their only chance at re-signing him. There may come a time this season when the Lakers will regret not trading Jalen Hood-Schifino or Maxwell Lewis to the Mavericks for Christian Wood just so they would have gotten his Bird rights so they could re-sign him.

While it may take time for him to become acclimated to playing defense, a ‘Christian Wood’ starting lineup with Wood and Davis as the two stud bigs should ultimately become the Lakers’ preferred fivesome to start games.

The Four Principles That Guided Rob Pelinka’s Big Makeover Of The Lakers

September 17, 2023 By LakerTom 7 Comments

After disastrously trading for Russell Westbrook, Rob Pelinka’s pulled off a dramatic comeback by prioritizing fit, upside, tradability, and continuity to transform the Lakers from a lottery team to a championship contender.

The problem that’s haunted the Lakers the last three years was not that Pelinka didn’t know what the right moves to make were. He just didn’t have the will and resolve to stick to his principles. The last six months, he has. Every move Rob’s made from the last trade deadline through this offseason has been about putting together a deep and diverse roster with players who meet his four guiding principles of fit, upside, tradability, and continuity.

When you’re general manager of the Lakers, the pressure is intense not only to hit a homerun every time up but to hit a game-winning, grand-slam homerun. We saw how that worked when we traded for Russell Westbrook. Since then, however, Rob has been impressively patient and consistent. While there’ve been disappointments like Beasley’s inability to fit and Dlo’s and Vando’s playoff vulnerability, Rob’s essentially hit a grand-slam homer.

Pelinka’s grand makeover not only has elevated the Lakers to being one of the top six favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship but also positioned them perfectly with a plethora of coveted players on tradable contracts. Pelinka may have some tough decisions to make come the trade deadline. Unless expectations are not met, the Lakers are more likely again to make moves to improve on the margins than to foolishly chase a third superstar.

Let’s take a closer look at how Rob Pelinka used fit, upside, tradability, and continuity as his guiding principles to build a deep, diverse rotation that transforms the Lakers from a lottery team to a championship contender.

1. Fit

The first personal quality Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office looked for when evaluating trade and free agency candidates was how they fit alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the team’s roster.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what it takes to fit alongside two superstars like James and Davis. Even the Lakers understand they need players who’ve proven they can be effective with and without the ball.
The other players on the court with LeBron and AD have to be able to make the inevitable open shots they’ll receive and do the small team-first things like passing, rebounding, and defending that championships require.

For the Lakers, the player who’s the best fit alongside James and Davis is Austin Reaves, the early favorite to win MIP next season after his breakout play for the Lakers in the playoffs and Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.
The Lakers’ priority was to avoid having to match a $100 million offer for Reaves, who’s a restricted free agent, which they were able to do by scaring off suiters and re-signing him to a below market 4-year $56 million deal.

Fit was also the clearly why the Lakers used their NT MLE to sign backup point guard Gabe Vincent to a 3-year $33 million deal and their BAE to sign backup small forward Taurean Prince to a 1-year $4.5 million contract.
Vincent and Prince were perfect examples of Pelinka smartly prioritizing fit in choosing whom to sign with his prized MLE and BAE. Like Reaves, both perfectly fit the 3&D model needed to optimize James and Davis.

Rob Pelinka and the Lakers learned their lesson with Russell Westbrook and prioritized fit as the first quality when choosing which players to bring back or sign to transform them from a lottery team to a title contender.

2. Upside

The second personal quality the Lakers prioritized in building their current roster is upside. Rather than surrounding James and Davis with older vets, Pelinka complemented his superstars solely with players in their twenties.

Amazingly, the average age of the 15 players Pelinka has surrounded James and Davis with is 23.9-years old. Even with 38-year old James and 30-year old Davis included, the average age of the Lakers is still just 25.1-years old.
The Lakers are the 15th youngest team in the league with greater upside than the Clippers, Bucks, 76ers, Warriors, Suns, Raptors, and Heat, the seven oldest teams in the league with average team ages over 27.0 years.

With a player development oriented coaching staff, L.A. is committed to surrounding James and Davis with young players who have the upside to grow, develop, and get better, especially playing with a star like LeBron. They’re parlaying their success with low risk, high reward players like Malik Monk, Lonnie Walker, and Dennis Schroder and hoping to strike gold again with projects Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes.

The Lakers have done a great job establishing themselves as the mecca for low risk, high reward players looking to redeem their games and revive their brands playing in the bright lights of Los Angeles with Bron and AD.
The Lakers see Wood’s upside as a potential starting center in a two-bigs lineup with Anthony Davis, Reddish’s ceiling as their long coveted starting small forward, and Hayes’ future as a dominant two-way backup center.

Pelinka’s transformation of the Lakers’ roster surrounding James and Davis to prioritize upside has been nothing short of a miracle. The Lakers clearly have greater roster upside than all the other championship contenders.

3. Tradability

Rob Pelinka’s third guiding principle in building a championship roster has been tradability, making sure that every player they sign or trade for not only possess a coveted NBA skillset but also has a team friendly contract.

Unlike last trade deadline, when the Lakers were desperate to trade Russell Westbrook, this Lakers’ roster has nothing but players whose games have solid value as well as untapped upside and contracts are easily tradable.
The Lakers may not have multiple first round picks to trade but they do have a plethora of quality trading chips in the form of solid talented young players who have legitimate NBA upsides and team friendly contracts.

How the Lakers do the first half of the season will determine what they do at the trade deadline. Chances are they will make moves to continue to upgrade the roster on the margins rather than trying to add a third star. Trading for a center like Myles Turner, a volume 3-point shooter like Gary Trent, Jr., or legitimate bigger 3&D starting wing like O.G. Anunoby would be more likely than a blockbuster deal for Trae Young or Zach LaVine.

How players perform the first half of year will also impact their tradability at the deadline. Most observers expect any trade the Lakers complete to include D’Angelo Russell, who waived his ‘no trade’ rights when re-signed.
Right now, Austin Reaves is probably untouchable as are LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt just signed a new 4-year $48 million contract, which gives him and the Lakers time to grow his game and value.

Besides enjoying a deep and diverse roster of players that can win games, the Lakers also have an impressive portfolio of tradable players to take full advantage of emerging opportunities to upgrade the roster at the deadline.

4. Continuity

Last but not least, Pelinka’s fourth guiding principle for upgrading the Lakers’ roster from lottery team to championship contender is continuity. The Lakers have committed to establishing continuity going forward.

L.A. returned seven players from last year’s team, extending Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt and re-signing Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura to go along with LeBron James and Max Christie.
L.A. also signed five free agents in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish, and Christian Wood and two draft picks in Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis for a total of seven new players.

That gave the Lakers an extremely deep and diverse 14-player roster, one roster spot that they will likely keep open for buyout candidate, and three rookie two-way players in Colin Castleton, D’Moi Hodge, and Alex Fudge.
7 players (Davis, Reaves, Hachimura, Vincent, Vanderbilt, Hood-Schifino, Lewis ) have long-term deals, 5 players (James, Russell, Wood, Reddish, Hayes) have 1+1 deals, and 2 players (Christie, Prince ) have 1-year deals.

Since winning their 17th NBA championship in the bubble in 2020, the Lakers got into the unfortunate habit of essentially turning over their entire roster every offseason and essentially killing any continuity.
With Pelinka committing the franchise to continuity, the Lakers can continue to build a dynamic and sustainable championship caliber roster with 9 to 12 young core players locked up in team-friendly contracts.

Overall, Pelinka’s fourth roster building guiding principle is continuity, which gives the Lakers a minimum of 8 and maximum of 14 players who could come back to defend their 18th and win their 19th championship.

Could Lakers Pull Off Mega Midseason Trade But Keep Championship Depth?

August 30, 2023 By LakerTom 5 Comments

Thanks to great moves at last season’s trade deadline and this offseason, the Lakers now find themselves with the deepest and most talented roster and the most legitimate tradable contracts since signing LeBron James.

That bodes well for the Lakers’ championship hopes for next season and for their chances to pull off a blockbuster move before the trade deadline to upgrade their roster from championship contender to title favorite.
The Lakers find themselves in the enviable position of not having to make a move to compete for a championship but they won’t hesitate to swing for the fences if the right player or players were suddenly to become available.

Everybody knows the Lakers would like to trade for a third superstar to play alongside LeBron and AD, help win a championship this season, and then replace James whenever he decides to retire or leave in free agency. The Lakers still have two open roster spots to fill and are hoping to add enough depth so they’ll still have a strong 10-man rotation even after trading two or three current players for a third star before the deadline.

While Rob Pelinka has done a masterful job rebuilding the team on the court, he’s done an even better job cleaning up and optimizing the Lakers salary cap so he has the trading chips to pursue a third star or superstar. Pelinka has built this roster for a big trade. While Reaves is throwing his hat in the ring to be the team’s third star, the Lakers will be on a mission and know this could be their best chance to get another ring for LeBron.

If the Lakers start strong, stay healthy, and get winning play from their starters and rotation, major trading chips and key wild card projects, they can still have championship caliber depth after trading for a third star.

What Would Lakers’ Mega Trade Packages Look Like?

Here are three proposed Laker trades for a $40 million star or stars built upon a package of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Top-5 protected 2029 first round pick and 2030 first round pick swap.

There’s a consensus among analysts that the package the Lakers will likely be pushing as they approach the trade deadline will include D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and necessary draft capital. The Lakers’ problem is they won’t trade James, Davis, or Reaves, which means there’s simply no way to match salaries to trade for a pair of stars or a superstar making $40 million without including Russell and Hachimura.

Russell’s $17.3 million, Hachimura’s $15.7 million, and Hood-Schifino’s $3.7M give the the Lakers $36.7 million in valuable tradable salaries, enough to bring back a player or players making $40 million per year. Players whom the Lakers might pursue include Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Pascal Siakam, Kyrie Irving, Kristaps Porzingis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Brandon Ingram, DeMar DeRozan, Myles Turner, and Buddy Hield.

While Russell or Hachimura could play so well the Lakers could decide to keep one or both of them and settle for just minor tweaks or no changes to the roster, the Lakers have positioned themselves for a blockbuster trade. Rob Pelinka sees this as an opportunity not only to reinforce the roster to make a run to win another championship for LeBron but also possibly to make a big move to actually land the player or players to replace James.

The Lakers love the roster they have right now but understand that this season is an opportunity to win their 18th NBA championship as well as a chance to trade for third superstar to eventually replace LeBron James.

What Would Lakers’ Post-Trade Depth Charts Look Like?

Here is how the projected depth charts for the Lakers would look like after making the three blockbuster trades used above as examples of possible deadline trades by L.A. In each case, Lakers still end up with deep rosters.

Looking at the above depth charts, trading for a superstar like Trae Young or Zach LaVine or a pair of second-tier stars like Myles Turner and Buddy Hield would greatly upgrade the firepower of the Lakers’ starting lineup.
The Lakers would be trading two starters for two starters from the Pacers and two starters for one starter from the Hawks or Bulls, which then opens up an opportunities to play two bigs or start Cam Reddish at small forward.

What also jumps out from the above depth charts is how important the Lakers’ last two open roster spots could be, especially if they can land an impact player like Christian Woods for just the veteran’s minimum pay. Depth always looks better on paper but often falls prey to reality as players don’t live up to expectations or get injured. Because of so many wild cards, the Lakers ceiling is exceptionally high and their floor exceptionally low.

Because of the rule changes which prevent teams who are over the first tax threshold from signing any buyout candidates, the Lakers are likely to keep their 15th roster spot open for potential star quality buyout candidates. There’s definitely a possibility of an older veteran player getting released and becoming available in time to be eligible to participate in the playoffs. As a team that can sign buyouts, the Lakers will keep their 15th spot open.

The Lakers need to stay healthy and hope questions about almost every player on the roster get answered positively but a midseason trade for a superstar or pair of stars to this team could lead to their winning #18.

How Hayes And Reddish ‘Wild Cards’ Could Be Key to Trade

The Lakers’ odds of still having championship quality bench depth after trading multiple players for a third superstar or pair of second-tier stars could depend on how wild cards Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish play.

The Lakers hope signing Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish, the #8 and #10 picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, will yield the same lightning-in-a-bottle they got for trading for Rui Hachimura, the #9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Until Hachimura broke out and finished the regular season strong and excelled in the playoffs for the Lakers, all three of the Top-10 2019 draftees were considered to be players who had underperformed their draft status.

But right now, Hayes, Reddish, and Hachimura are have realistic options to start for the Lakers: Hayes at the five with Davis in a two-bigs lineup or Reddish or Hachimura at the three with James and Davis and four and five. How the three perform in training camp and preseason could very well determine who starts for the Lakers. In a perfect world, Hachimura will continue to excel as a Laker while Hayes and Reddish have breakout years.

The NBA has always been a star and superstar driven league and the Lakers roster has four players who were top-10 first round picks in LeBron James (#1), Anthony Davis (#1), D’Angelo Russell (#2), and Rui Hachimura (#9).
The four players the Lakers were targeting via midseason trades were Trae Young (#5), Zach LaVine (#13), Myles Turner (#11), and Buddy Hield (#6), which would give the Lakers five or six players who were top-13 picks.

The Lakers need all three of their 2019 Top-10 draft picks to have career seasons so they can pull off a mega midseason trade for a third star or superstar and still have championship caliber depth left after the trade.

The 10 Questions 10 Laker Players Must Answer to Win Championship

August 18, 2023 By LakerTom 15 Comments

While the Lakers are confident they can compete for a championship this season, they also know all their optimism is based upon receiving positive answers to major question marks for the 10 key players in their rotation.

Frankly, major questions about every player in their rotation is what makes the Lakers a scary team. Those question marks could raise their ceiling to a championship stratosphere or plummet their floor to a nightmarish abyss. While the Lakers have done an excellent job surrounding their superstars with more size, shooting, and depth, they’re still heavily dependent upon LeBron James and Anthony Davis staying healthy and playing 65+ games.

For purposes of this article, we’re going to assume that LeBron James and Anthony Davis will play over 65 games and finish the season healthy and primed for the playoffs. That’s essential for any Lakers championship. We’re also going to assume the Lakers don’t make any more major moves before the start of the season or at the trade deadline. While L.A. is not the favorite, the assumption is the team wants to keep the current roster.

Here are the ten questions ten key Lakers players must answer to win a championship. The Lakers need the first three and five of the remaining seven questions to be answer affirmatively to win the NBA championship.

1. Can Anthony Davis finally take the torch from Lebron James?

With a new 3-year extension locking him in L.A. for the next five years, Anthony Davis has become the Lakers’ franchise face and alpha superstar. For the Lakers to win, AD must reclaim his standing as a top-5 superstar.

The big question is will Davis play the five like last season with James at the four or will the Lakers go two bigs with Hayes or a stretch big like Wood at the five and Davis at the four, where he’ll need to regain his outside shot. Regardless of where Davis ends up playing, he’s going to need to rediscover the outstanding midrange and 3-point shooting stroke he displayed when the Lakers won their 17th NBA championship in the bubble back in 2020.

The Lakers will open the season with two bigs and AD playing his preferred power forward. For the Lakers to win the championship, Davis must take the torch from James and become a legitimate MVP and DPOY candidate.

2. Can LeBron James continue to play like a top-ten superstar?

The coming NBA season could theoretically be LeBron James’ final season in purple and gold as he theoretically could exercise the player option for his final contract year to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The big question for LeBron James is whether he will be able to recover from the foot injury that hobbled him the second half of the season and in the playoffs and prevented him from having his normal explosiveness. Where James will end up playing is also up in the air at the moment. The Lakers push to play two bigs may end up forcing LeBron James to slide from the four to the three, which would then have him defending wings.

The Lakers want to relieve LeBron of the pressure of being the team’s lead scorer and playmaker so he can be the ace in the hole they can call when they need a win. They’re counting on LBJ remaining a top-10 superstar.

3. Can Austin Reaves be 3rd best player on a championship team?

While undrafted 25-year olds who played four years of college basketball are usually considered to have a lower ceiling than younger 20-year olds who were one-and-done in college, Austin Reaves may be the exception.

What gives Reaves a much higher ceiling than expected is his preternatural basketball intelligence, ability to efficiently score the basketball at all three levels, and unique knack for drawing fouls from defenders in the paint. Reaves appears ready to translate his elite playoff performance into an elite regular season performance as Darvin Ham essentially plans to give Austin increased point guard responsibilities to see if that could be his future.

With added experience playing for Team USA, Austin Reaves is poised to enjoy a breakout season where he will get more minutes and touches and have a chance to prove he can be the third star on championship team.

4. Can D’Angelo Russell pull off a regular season redemption?

After a rough conference finals and offseason, D’Angelo Russell was forced to sign a 2-year $36 million contract (with year 2 player option) that waived his ‘no trade’ rights so Lakers will be able to trade him after December 15.

NBA analysts and bloggers have already projected D’Angelo Russell along with recently signed Rui Hachimura, recently drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino, and their 2029 first round pick as the team’s likely trade deadline package. That assumes the Lakers have already made up their mind to move on from Russell, which may not be the smart thing for them to do. Other than the conference finals, Russell was a great fit who had an outstanding season.

While the Lakers may ultimately trade him if the right opportunity arises, D’Angelo Russell is going to be driven to show the conference finals were just a fluke and he’s capable of being a championship starting point guard.

5. Can Jaxson Hayes force his way into Lakers starting lineup?

From all reports, the Los Angeles Lakers are serious about wanting to start 23-year old Jaxson Hayes at center so they can play two bigs and move Anthony Davis to power forward and LeBron James to small forward.

The Lakers believe Hayes can start at center like McGee and Howard did during the 2020 championship run, allowing Anthony Davis to play his preferred four and giving team front court positional size advantage.
For the Lakers’ two bigs plan to work, Jaxson Hayes will have to prove he can do what Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones could not do last summer, which is prove he can be the starting center on a championship team.

Jaxson Hayes is the biggest wild card on a team full of wild cards. A former #8 pick in the draft, Jaxson has the talent and athleticism to be a starter. Now he needs to show the drive and dedication to become a champion.

6. Can Rui Hachimura play in regular season like in playoffs?

After enjoying a career record playoff, Rui Hachimura was rewarded with a 3-year $51 million contract from the Lakers. The question the Lakers have now is whether they’re going to get ‘regular season Rui’ or ‘playoff Rui.’

Frankly, there’s no way ‘regular season Lakers’ get the full ‘playoff Rui,’ who set a record last playoffs shooting 48.7% from deep, which reduced his previous 60.0% playoff 3-point percentage to his still league best 51.9%.
But that doesn’t mean that the Lakers are not going to be thrilled with the more confident, versatile, and impactful version of Rui Hachimura that Darvin Ham, Phil Handy, and LeBron James have somehow molded.

Expect Rui Hachimura to show why he was a #9 pick in the draft and prove he can be a starter or play starter minutes as one of the Lakers’ first players off the bench. Rui could be a candidate for league Most Improved Player.

7. Can Gabe Vincent shoot in regular season like in playoffs?

Like Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent had a sizzling playoff performance for the Miami Heat, shooting a sizzling 37.8% from deep on 6.1 attempts per game making it all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to the Nuggets.

Vincent’s signing is part of the Lakers’ offseason effort to upgrade their 3-point shooting. The Lakers see him a likely shooting upgrade and possible defensive upgrade over Dennis Schroder, the team’s starter last season.
Gabe’s needs to prove he can shoot 37.8% from deep in the regular season, which would be a dramatic improvement over his journeyman 33.9% career regular season and 35.3 career playoff 3-point shooting stats.

Vincent will get a chance in camp to take the starting point guard job away from D’Angelo Russell and could be the Lakers steal in free agency if he can shoot like he did in the playoffs and replace Schroder’s solid defense.

8. Can Taurean Prince be the Lakers’ free agency steal?

Signing Taurean Prince was one of the first moves the Los Angeles Lakers made when free agency opened, locking up the highly coveted 3&D combo forward to a 1-year, $4.5 million contract using their Bi-Annual exception.

Prince gives the Lakers the bigger 3&D wing they’ve desperately needed to guard the elite wing scorers in the West. The 6′ 7′ Prince has a 7′ wingspan and shot over 38% from deep the last four years on 3.5 attempts per game. Signing for the BAE already makes Taurean a free agent steal for the Lakers but what they’ve hoping for is the young veteran who’s a plus defender and proven sniper who can backup either LeBron James or Anthony Davis.

If Taurean Prince plays solid D and shoots over 38% from deep on 3 to 4 attempts per game, he’ll play big minutes, be one of the Lakers’ steals of this free agency, and be an even more coveted free agent next summer.

9. Can Jarred Vanderbilt fix his offensive deficiencies?

As is always the case, the deeper a team gets into the playoffs, the more pressure identifies and takes advantage of its weaknesses. That’s what happened to D’Angelo Russell and it’s what happened to Jarred Vanderbilt.

Vando went from the immediate defensive spark that carried the Lakers into the play-in game and then the playoffs themselves to the player teams refused to guard in the corner, making the Lakers play 4 on 5 on offense. Vando must improve his 3-point shooting and ability to score when given the ball in traffic in the paint. Early reports say he’s changed his shooting stroke and has been working with Phil Handy on improving post moves.

Jarred is in the final year of his contract and could be in for a raise if he shows he’s no longer a liability on offense. He’ll get chances because his defense is so critical but his role and minutes will depend on his offense.

10. Can Cam Reddish break into Lakers 10-man rotation?

The Los Angeles Lakers completed an unusual 2019 NBA Draft Trifecta by signing Cam Reddish, #10 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, to go with #8 pick Jaxson Hayes and #10 pick Rui Hachimura already on the Lakers’ roster.

Like Hayes and Hachimura, Reddish is still looking to find a team where he can finally put his elite talent and athleticism together and find a team on which he can become the best possible player he’s capable of becoming. The Lakers are betting they can do the same for Hayes and Reddish as they may have done for Hachimura. Much as he was a huge rooter for Rui last season, LeBron has already come out and predicted big things for Cam.

Of the three 2019 top-10 draft picks, Cam Reddish is probably the biggest disappointment and has the biggest mountain to climb. Earning his way into a potential championship Lakers’ rotation would be a great first step.