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Russell Westbrook

How Moving Russell Westbrook to the Bench Could Help Lakers Win Games!

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The Los Angeles Lakers need to win games and moving Russell Westbrook to the bench the rest of the season and staggering his minutes with James and Davis could make it easier to build a winning starting lineup and rotations.

One of the major reasons the Lakers have been unable to win many games this season has been their poor roster construction, which led head coach Frank Vogel to regularly deploy a collection of fundamentally flawed lineups. Rob Pelinka didn’t do Frank Vogel any favors when he gave him a James, Davis, Westbrook superstar big three. Russ hasn’t fit well and his presence makes it hard to surround LeBron and AD with shooting and defense.

The Lakers were desperate to find shooters and defenders to surround James and Davis but trading for Russell Westbrook, who is not a good shooter or defender, only exacerbated the situation and made it worse. Forget injuries to LeBron and AD. The reality is Lakers’ lineups with all three superstars LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook have played a total of 376 minutes this season with a negative net rating of -2.5.

The only strategy the Lakers haven’t tried is bringing Westbrook off the bench and staggering his minutes versus James and Davis to make it easer to surround them with shooters and defenders and let Russ feast against backups. The Lakers are desperate to win games and reverting to a starting lineup with just two superstars could be the catalyst to enable Frank Vogel to create more effective starting lineups and rotations and win more games.

Let’s take a look at how moving Russell Westbrook to the bench and staggering his minutes with LeBron and AD could help the Los Angeles Lakers win more games and maybe find success in the playoffs.

1. Lakers’ Starting Lineup Will Be Better Without Westbrook

Russell Westbrook starting not only takes possessions from LeBron James and Anthony Davis but Russ’ lack of gravity as a 3-point shooter makes it easy to pack the paint and prevent LeBron and AD from attacking the rim.

Even more distressing is the recent scuttlebutt we’re hearing behind the scenes that Westbrook has become almost defiant and pushed back “when coaches and teammates have tried to broach changes in his role or approach.” Word is both the Lakers and Westbrook are ready to move on next season, which raises the question of what the Lakers should do with Russ these last 20 games since the relationship may become adversarial.

Removing Russ from the starting lineup would give Lakers head coach Frank three instead of two starting positions to add the playmaking, shooting, and defense needed to complement superstars James and Davis. Building an elite starting lineup around three superstars is almost impossible as there is no way to ‘surround’ LeBron, AD, and Russ with playmakers, shooters, and defenders when you only have two starters available.

Frankly, the time’s come to stop treating Russ like he’s a legit third superstar on a championship caliber team. He’s now become the mistake the Lakers will likely have to sacrifice a couple of draft picks to fix this summer. Truth is Westbrook is just a poor fit as starter because what he brings to the table offensively or defensively does not complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis or make it easier for them excel at either end of the court.

Right now, the Lakers are losing the minutes when LeBron, AD, and Russ are on the court together. Benching Russ could be the solution to the Lakers winning the minutes the starters are on the floor together going forward.

2. Westbrook Will Be More Effective Player Coming Off Bench

While Westbrook will not be happy coming off the bench for the last 20 games of this season, it could be an chance for him to showcase his brand and what he’s capable of doing when not limited to being third option.

Russell Westbrook’s subpar season has clearly been =impacted by playing most of his minutes alongside LeBron James and/or Anthony Davis. He has a -4.0 Net Rating playing with James and a -2.3 Net Rating and with Davis. Russ has actually played better without LeBron James than with him this season, averaging 21.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.6 assists while shooting 44.8/345.7/72,2% in 35.5 minutes in 17 games without LeBron James.

Westbrook has struggled mightily when playing with LeBron and AD, often deferring to them rather than playing his normal super aggressive game. Bringing him off the bench will put Russ in situations where he can excel. Westbrook should realize his game is better suited to come off the bench, where he can once again be the alpha dog and his relentless attacking style will be able to take advantage of playing against a team’s backup players.

Now that the Lakers and Russ have mutually agreed to part ways at the end of this season, Russ needs to be sold on the idea this is the best way for him to show teams his subpar season is primarily due to his fit on the Lakers. He needs to understand that becoming a force off the bench without LeBron and AD could be the perfect opportunity to showcase his game over the next 20 games, the play-in tournament, and ultimately the NBA Playoffs.

Russ’ market value has taken a hard hit with the Lakers and a chance to be the Lakers’ alpha player who gets the touches and shots off the bench could benefit the Lakers need to win games and Russ to redeem his brand.

What Could the Los Angeles Lakers Get in Trade for Russ, LeBron, & AD?

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While the chances the Los Angeles Lakers would trade their entire superstar big three are slim and none, it’s intriguing to consider what the purple and gold could get for Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James.

While there’s little question the Lakers will attempt to trade Westbrook and his $47 million expiring contract this summer, the idea of Los Angeles also trading LeBron James and Anthony Davis would be an extreme makeover. Although it’s been a tough last two seasons, trading a James and Davis duo that dominated every round of the playoffs and won their 17th NBA championship in the bubble less than 18 months ago would be stupid.

While the odds of a Lakers’ total rebuild seem remote, trading James and Davis would have to be motivated on expectation the 37-year old James and injury prone Davis are no longer good enough to win another championship. Hence, the smart move is to trade them while their value is still high enough to bring back not only younger potential stars and role players to enable the Lakers to avoid a complete overhaul and still compete for a title.

While Russ is the sure superstar the Lakers will trade, let’s look at what L.A. could conceivably receive for trading Russell Westbrook, then LeBron James, and finally Anthony Davis in an extreme makeover this summer.

1. Proposed Russell Westbrook Trade

The one superstar the Lakers do have to trade is Westbrook, whose $47 million expiring contract should finally become a valuable trading chip. The key is finding a trade partner looking to reduce long-term commitments.

The Pacers should be one of the Lakers’ possible trading partners as they have two players in Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield whose multi-year contracts they would like to move on from and who’d be Lakers upgrades. The salary dump trade that makes sense for the Lakers and Pacers is Russell Westbrook’s $47.1 million expiring contract for Malcolm Brogdon’s 3-year $67 million contract and Buddy Hield’s 2-year $40 million contract.

What’s great about this trade is it works whether the Lakers plan to trade Anthony Davis and/or LeBron James. If the Lakers do plan to trade either of them, they will need to expand this trade to include Pacers’ Myles Turner. The perfect solution for the Lakers would like to expand the Westbrook for Brogdon and Hield trade to include Horton-Tucker, Nunn, and the Lakers’ unprotected 2027 first round pick in return for Pacers center Myles Turner.

The expanded Westbrook trade would not only give the Lakers an elite stretch five shot-blocking center in Turner to replace Davis but also two high quality starters or backups in Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield.

2. Proposed LeBron James Trade

If the Lakers were able to get the Pacers to trade Turner, Brogdon, and Hield for Russ, THT, Nunn, and the 2027 pick, they might be smart to stop there. Those three new starters are a perfect fit with LeBron James and AD.

A starting lineup of Brogdon, Hield, James, Davis, and Turner would solve the Lakers’ issues with size and give them the versatility to play small with Davis or James at five or go with two-bigs with Turner at five and Davis at four. Here’s where the Lakers’ worries about 37-year old LeBron James’ physical decline and his and Anthony Davis’ tendency to get injured become factors. The question is can LeBron and AD still lead the Lakers to championships?

LeBron at 37-years old is already starting to show signs of physical decline and more frequent and serious injuries. If the Lakers do not believe they can still win a title with LeBron, they should look to trade him and keep AD. Anthony Davis at 28-years old is still a top ten player and trading LeBron back to Cleveland for Sexton, Markkanen, and Okoro would give the Lakers two legitimate NBA starters along with a elite defensive role player.

The key to the James trade for the Lakers is Sexton and two first round draft picks to replenish their trade assets stockpile. The Lakers see Sexton as one of the team’s new young stars to replace LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

3. Proposed Anthony Davis Trade

After trading Westbrook and James, the Lakers have two options. They could stand pat by adding Turner, Sexton, Brogdon, Hield, Markkanen, and Okoro to complement Anthony Davis or take the final step and trade AD.

Trading LeBron James may have made trading Anthony Davis a necessity due to Klutch Sports. Anthony Davis may demand to be traded if LeBron is traded. Trading LeBron and AD would sever the alliance with Klutch Sports. The trade would be Anthony Davis to Boston for Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, giving the Lakers a second young star in Brown to pair with Sexton as the team’s future star duo to replace LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

While the Lakers lose AD, they receive two proven All-Star 3&D starters in return in Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. Smart is the lock-down defensive guard and Brown the All-Star defender and elite scorer the Lakers need. Today’s NBA is a guard and wing driven league and, like the Westbrook and James trades, the Davis trade helps the Lakers become a better, deeper, and younger team that should have a decades long championship window.

Trading Anthony Davis would signal the end of the Lakers/Klutch alliance and LeBron’s 4-year stint with the purple and gold. But the trade would also be the piece de resistance of a dramatic Lakers’ extreme makeover.

4. Roster After Trading Superstar Big Three

The above Westbrook, Davis, and James trades would give give the Lakers eight new players: Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Isaac Okoro.

Five of those eight new players would be projected as starters, including Collin Sexton, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Lauri Markkanen, and Myles Turner. Brogdon, Hield, and Okoro would become backups to the starters. The Lakers would also bring back four players from this year’s team: Carmelo Anthony, Austin, Reaves, and Stanley Johnson. That would leave three rosters spots open for free agents and players from the NBA Draft.

The new Lakers roster would be extremely talented and deep at both guard and small forward positions with three All-Star starters in Sexton, Smart, and Brown and three starter quality backups in Brogdon, Hield, and Okoro. While Turner gives the Lakers a shot-blocking stretch five center, they also need to use empty roster spots and even a trade of a valued guard like Hield to upgrade their front court with a power forward like Christian Wood.

There’s no question the Lakers should be able to find trading partners for all three of their superstars should they decide to undergo an extreme makeover. The resulting roster could be good enough to be a contender. However, we’ve all seen how teams constructed on paper often don’t translate on the hardwood. It’s easy to see from above that there are logical stopping points for the Lakers after trading Russ and then LeBron.

The Lakers will try to trade Westbrook and explore what they might be able to get for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But there are scenarios where the dominos line up and the Lakers trade all three of their superstars.

What Can the Lakers Do To Convince LeBron James to Extend His Contract?

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The Lakers will be under intense pressure to win games the rest of this season and transform their flawed roster into a deeper, more balanced and talented team this summer to convince LeBron James to sign an extension.

LeBron James will become eligible to sign a 2-year extension with the Lakers on August 4th. The Lakers need to do everything in their power before then to win enough games and improve their roster to get LeBron to re-sign. While the Lakers didn’t have the chips to make a big move at the trade deadline, they’ll be able to offer their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks and Russell Westbrook’s $47 million contract will now be expiring.

There’s also been a rash of articles in the media and blogs about the Lakers wanting to distance themselves from Klutch Sports. While the organizations have many common goals, their motives have not always been fully aligned. Nevertheless, the partnership has resulted in the Lakers getting superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and winning the team’s 17th NBA championship in the bubble, proof of the benefits of the Klutch alliance.

The Los Angeles Lakers/Klutch Sports alliance has been a huge edge for the Lakers over other NBA teams. While it can be an unwieldy partnership at times requiring compromise, it’s an advantage no other NBA team has. That’s not something you throw away or risk losing. Nothing wrong with wanting to renegotiate issues but keeping communications open and working to refine and make the partnership even better is smart.

So what do the Lakers have to do to convince LeBron James to sign a two-year extension to continue wearing the purple and gold? Here are the four key things the Lakers must accomplish to get LeBron to sign an extension:

1. Mend Fences with Klutch Sports and Agree on Offseason Plan

Nobody knows who or how the Lakers front office makes decisions. Most observers see the team run by a cadre of four individuals: team governor Jeanie Buss, VPBO Rob Pelinka, and advisors Kurt and Linda Rambis.

What’s missing are the dominant voices the Lakers had when Jerry Buss was managing owner and Jerry West GM. Instead, Lakers now make decisions via mutual collaboration and consensus rather than decisive executive edict. One of the reasons the collaborative approach has worked for the Lakers has been their close alliance with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, the agency that coincidentally represents both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

From LeBron’s free agency signing to Anthony Davis forced trade, there’s a valid argument Rich Paul and, by extension LeBron James, have been the true general managers behind the L.A. Lakers’ 17th NBA championship. While there are situations where what’s best for the team and a player may not align, there’s no question signing LeBron James as a free agent and then forcing a trade for Anthony Davis were gifts to the Lakers by Klutch Sports.

Rob Pelinka and Rich Paul need to sit down together and get back on the same page because the LeBron James and Anthony Davis pairing is still the genius move that raised the bar and ceiling for both the Lakers and Klutch. They need to share intelligence and work together to figure out how best to resolve the Russell Westbrook situation, keep the players who have proven they belong, and how to upgrade the starting lineup and overall rotations.

The Lakers/Klutch Sports alliance has been a major success for both the NBA team and the player agency. The Lakers need to do what’s necessary to mend the fences and keep Klutch Sports as an exclusive weapon.

2. Finish Regular Season Strong and Show Up Big in Playoffs

The Lakers have 24 games remaining in the regular season. They are currently 9th in the West with a 27–31 record. To compete for 6th seed and avoid the play-in, the Lakers need to win 75% of the rest of their games.

That would mean going 18–6 with a good chance neither Anthony Davis or Kendrick Nunn will be available until the last 6 to 12 games. Realistically, the Lakers will be hard pressed to avoid being in the play-in tournament. While participating in the play-in tourney would create a gauntlet the Lakers would have to survive to win the championship, the silver lining is they always have a chance with a healthy and motivated James and Davis.

The Lakers have finally elevated their play over the last few games, almost defeating the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco and coming from behind after losing Anthony Davis to injury to smack down the Utah Jazz. Hopefully, they’ll come back refreshed after the All-Star break ready to make a stretch run despite missing their superstar center. While they probably can’t go 18–6 over the last 24, the goal should be at least 15–9.

As for the playoffs, here’s where it gets interesting, if the Laker finish 7th or 8th, they can win the #7 or #8 seed. If the finish 9th or 10th, they can only win the #8 seed. Ideally, the Lakers want the #7 seed to face the Warriors. Because of matchups, the last team the Warriors want to play in the first round of the playoffs is the Lakers with healthy superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Lakers could upset Warriors and win first round battle.

Who knows, maybe the Lakers take down the Grizzlies in round two and the Suns to get to the Finals and we have a Hollywood ending to the story. Showing up in the playoffs, however, could be key to keeping LeBron.

3. Bring Back Role Players Monk, Anthony, Reaves, Johnson, and Nunn

One of the underappreciated aspects of this season has been the emergence of five talented role players who should be part of the Lakers’ roster next season, hopefully providing some long needed continuity and consistency.

This season, the Lakers brought back just three players from the previous season: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Talen Horton-Tucker. The expected lack of continuity was exacerbated by injuries and poor lineups. Even if they trade Horton-Tucker, who’s not a great fit next, and Russ, the Lakers still have five quality role players in Malik Monk, Carmelo Anthony, Austin Reaves, Stanley .Johnson, and Kendrick Nunn.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis plus the five proven role players listed above would give the Lakers’ roster for next season seven returning players, which is almost half of the fifteen active players on their roster. The Lakers need to use Russ’ $47 million expiring contract and THT’s $10 million contract and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks to trade for three quality starters to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Of the five role players, Malik Monk is the one the Lakers are most at risk of losing because the most they can offer him is the taxpayer $6.2 million MLE, while there could be teams willing to offer him the full $10 million MLE. Reaves is under contract, Nunn has a player option, Johnson a team option, and Anthony likely to want to run it back. So with luck, the Lakers might be able to keep the best of this year’s team for better continuity next season.

Bringing back players whom LeBron likes and respects is just as important as bringing in new players who solve needs that cost us wins. Monk, Anthony, Reaves, Johnson, and Nunn would give the Lakers a great bench.

4. Trade for Third Superstar or Three Elite Two-Way Starters

The most important thing the Lakers can do to get LeBron to sign an extension this summer is trade Westbrook, THT, and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks for a third superstar or three quality starters.

How successful the Lakers are in trading Russ and his $47 million expiring contract, Horton-Tucker, and picks for that elusive third superstar —like Lillard or Beal — could determine whether LeBron stays or forces a trade. While it’s a long shot that the Lakers could turn Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and two first round picks into a third superstar or three elite starters, there are fortunately pathways Pelinka can take to accomplish both goals.

Landing a legitimate third superstar to complement James and Davis would likely require a loyal superstar like Lillard or Beal requesting the Blazers or the Wizards to trade him to the Lakers, which is not very likely to happen. But trading for three potential starters who would be major upgrades over the current starters is something Rob could accomplish using Russ’ $47 million expiring contract and the Lakers’ two first round draft picks.

The key is the Lakers’ willingness to trade Russ’ expiring contract for two or three players with multiple-year deals. The Pacers, for example, might take Russ’ expiring contract to dump Brogdon’s and Hield‘s long-term contracts. While they would be getting Russ’ $47 million expiring contract, they would also be avoiding the over $100 million total salary owed to the other two. The real value of expiring contracts is helping other teams clear cap space.

Turning Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks into three quality 3&D starters would be the kind of offseason Rob Pelinka needs to have to convince LeBron James to sign an extension.

What this entire situation has come down to is a battle for positioning on what the end of the LeBron as a Laker era is going to look like. Will it end with the Lakers paying max salaries to a diminished superstar like Kobe? The win-now Lakers just don’t want the LeBron era to end like it did the two times he left Cleveland , where the team was left with zero cap space and too many overpaid veteran role players on long-term contracts.

In the end, its LeBron versus Jeanie in that Klutch want the Lakers to go all-in to win another championship, which today means trading draft picks, taking back long-term contracts, and be willing to pay mega luxury taxes. These are points Lakers’ media and fans have been screaming about for years. The rules of how you win in the NBA have changed and the Lakers need to recommit to doing whatever is needed to win championships.

Lakers need to mend fences with Klutch, finish season strong and have good run in the playoffs, bring back their five elite role players, and trade Russ’ expiring contract and picks for a third superstar or three starters.

That’s how the Los Angeles Lakers get LeBron James to sign an extension.

Three Strategies Lakers Must Change to Stay Competitive in Modern NBA!

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If the Los Angeles Lakers hope to compete for championships in a league where the challenge and financial investment to win titles have dramatically increased, they must be willing to pay the price to be a legitimate contender.

After winning their 17th championship in the bubble eighteen months ago, the Lakers struggled to stay competitive as injuries and Covid battered the roster and poor decisions and cap and tax strategies derailed progress. Suddenly, the NBA’s most storied franchise is facing a series of franchise defining decisions with major short and long-term implications as their usual championship team building strategies no longer seem to be working.

What’s happened is the competitive landscape for the NBA has changed and the price of admission to be a legitimate contender in the league today now requires top teams to accept gargantuan payrolls and mega luxury taxes. The last two years, the Lakers’ personnel decisions were driven by their old school strategies of trading for a third superstar, optimizing cap flexibility by only adding players on short term deals, and avoiding luxury taxes.

Unfortunately, those strategies led the Lakers to trade for Westbrook, build a roster of minimum salary players with no trade value, and lose valuable assets like Alex Caruso and Dennis Schroder to free agency with no return. Unable to find a deal at the trade deadline, the Lakers doubled down on the same outdated approach, positioning themselves to use Russ’ $47 million expiring contract and two first round picks to trade for Damian Lillard.

Lakers must accept the rules have changed. Tradeable players on long-term deals are better than cap space, mega luxury taxes are the new price of admission to compete, and two superstars and depth are better than three.

1. Tradeable Players on Long-Term Deals Are Better Than Cap Space

The Lakers’ approach to team building has always favored cap space and players on 1-year deals over players on multiple-year contracts. The Lakers need to rethink this strategy as it limits both team talent and continuity.

with 13 of the 15 players on their roster making either max or minimum salaries, the Lakers’ ability to take advantage of trade opportunities to improve their roster are severely limited as we’ve seen the past two years. Cap space is great if you’re trying to sign LeBron James as your centerpiece but filling a roster with nothing but minimum salary players on 1-year deals limits the talent you can sign and your trading chips to get better.

The trade the Clippers made to land Powell and Covington, two players who would have been great fits on the Lakers, was a perfect example of a trade opportunity for which the Lakers simply did not have the assets to pull off. That’s why not failing to re-sign Caruso and Schroder as trading chips was a serious mistake. Standing pat at the trade deadline also did nothing to help the Lakers be in a better position with respect to trading chips this summer.

The key to putting the best possible team on the court and retaining the flexibility to free up cap space or come up with the assets needed to take advantage of trade opportunities is signing players to tradeable contracts. Signing key players you can easily move if necessary is a smarter strategy than turning over an entire roster of 1-year deals like the Lakers did the last two seasons. It gives you better players and a chance to build continuity.

Settling for 1-year deals to pursue cap space flexibility limits the talent a team can put on the court, the continuity teams needs to be a winner, and the trading chips to take advantage of opportunities to improve the roster.

2. Mega Luxury Taxes Are Price of Admission to Compete for Title

While NBA teams have recently made moves to reduce luxury tax bills, the Lakers are unique among major big market competitors in that they’ve been unwilling to pay mega luxury taxes like the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets.

We’ve seen that in the Lakers’ decision not to re-sign Alex Caruso, a player whom they could have definitely used as a trading chip at the deadline or as a key rotation piece as they struggle to win enough games to make the playoffs. We’ve also seen the Lakers’ refuse at the deadline to accept the Rockets offer of Christian Wood in trade because of the luxury taxes re-signing a young talent like Wood could ultimately cost the franchise.

While the Lakers were never willing to pay significant luxury taxes back in the days the franchise was run by Dr. Jerry Buss, times have changed and big market teams like the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets have raised the bar. While the Lakers may not have billionaire owners like other franchises, they need to continue to invest in building their brand by doing what they have to do to compete in today’s NBA, even if that means mega luxury taxes.

With the salary cap and luxury tax threshold increasing next year, NBA teams as a whole seem to be making moves to limit how much luxury taxes they will have to pay, especially the small market teams who never pay taxes. Unfortunately, big market teams seem intent on raising the bar to compete for an NBA championship. There was a point when the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets were slated to pay over $100 million in luxury taxes.

The Lakers need to wake up and understand that the reason the franchise is worth almost $5 billion is because of the 17 NBA championships they have won. Luxury taxes are the new price of admission to be NBA champions.

3. Two Superstars with Deep Roster Better Than Three Superstars

The Lakers’ and Nets’ experience with superstar big threes suggests two superstars with a deeper balanced roster could be the better team building model than three superstars for winning multiple NBA championships.

The two superstar model is just easier to put together. Just look at the potential personality and fit issues a team encounters trying to make three superstars work. There’s something about ’two’s company, three’s a crowd.’ That’s not even dealing with the issue that there’s only two other starters, which makes building a viable two-way starting and closing lineup near impossible, especially if all you can afford are players on minimum salaries.

Right now, the Lakers’ 15-man roster consists of 3 superstars on maximum deals, 2 players in Horton-Tucker ($9.5 million) and Nunn ($5 million) on non-minimum contracts, and 10 players on rookie or vet minimum deals. Being so top heavy, the Lakers other starters should logically be Talen and Kendrick since they’re being paid more. Unfortunately, Horton-Tucker has regressed from his sophomore season and Nunn has not been able to play.

Imagine if the Los Angeles Lakers could replace Westbrook and his $44.2 million salary with three high quality rotation players like Eric Gordon ($18.2 million), Christian Wood ($13.6 million), and Alec Burkes ($9.5 million)? That’s basically the route the Lakers should be looking to take this summer by trading Westbrook to the Thunder for Derrick Favors ($9.5 million) and a $34.7 million trade exception to acquire additional players.

While the Lakers are anxious to find a third superstar to replace LeBron James when he retires, right now they need to focus on finding two or three quality championship caliber players to complement their two superstars.

Five Out-of-the-Box Strategic Moves That Could Salvage the Lakers’ Season

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For a team that needs practices and superstars who need a chance to rest and recover, the All-Star break is Lakers’ last chance to make adjustments for the 24-game stretch run that starts vs. the Clippers February 25th.

If the Lakers have any hopes of transforming what has been a dismal season into a miraculous comeback in the playoffs, then they need to consider major strategic moves to transform the team over the remaining 24 games. The good news is there are major moves on and off the court the Lakers can make to become a much better team. The bad news is there isn’t much time to act and the Lakers have never been an organization to react with urgency.

Here are five strategic moves the Lakers should consider during the All-Star break to optimize their chances of winning 18 of their 24 remaining games to hopefully finish 46–37, which would give them a good shot at the #6 seed.

1. Consider Firing Frank Vogel and Making Phil Handy Interim Coach

Timing is everything when it comes to changing coaches. The last thing the Lakers need to start this offseason is a lengthy coaching search that delays and derails the team’s plans to rebuild their roster to championship level.

There’s no scenario where Frank Vogel is anything but a lame duck coach when it comes to the Lakers. That’s why the smart move by the Lakers is to fire Vogel after Wednesday’s game and make Phil Handy the interim coach. Promoting Handy would give the Lakers the opportunity to test drive him for the rest of the season and open the door for the Lakers to rethink what’s important and how best to utilize the players they have on the roster to win.

The Lakers as a team need to use the rest of this season to decide exactly what kind of team they want to build, specifically whether they want to chase a third superstar like Dame this summer or better starters and bench. The Lakers also need their next head coach to share a vision of basketball that embraces analytics and the importance of 3-point shooting and versatility when building a roster or constructing lineups and rotations.

Changing coaches now will enable the Lakers to use the rest of the season and the performance under Handy to be in the best position to resolve the coaching issue by end of season so they can focus on upgrading their roster.

2. Experiment with Starting Lineups Built Around LeBron and AD

After trading for Westbrook, the Lakers learned building winning lineups around three ball dominant superstars is not easy. Going forward, they need to experiment with starting lineups built around LeBron and AD.

The Lakers have struggled all season long to build lineups with all three superstars. The problem has been it was impossible to fit the elite 3-point shooting and perimeter defense the team needed in just two other starters. Building starting and closing lineups around just superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis becomes much easier because there are now three starters from which to get the needed shooting and defense.

For example, a Lakers’ starting lineup of Malik Monk, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Stanley Johnson, and Anthony Davis would be able to shoot the three and play solid defense. That’s a lineup the Lakers should test. Logistically, the Lakers could also tailor their starting and closing lineups based on the matchups against different opponents. They could even have big lineups with Howard starting at the five against certain NBA teams.

Strategically, the Lakers need to experiment with lineups built around James and Davis and without Westbrook so the team will not start every game by spotting the other team with an early double digit lead.

3. Experiment with Russell Westbrook off the Bench as Sixth Man

The flip side of experimenting with two superstar starting lineups is the Lakers will get an opportunity to have Russ be their 6th man catalyst coming off the bench with Melo to wreak havoc against team’s second units.

Not unexpectedly, Russ’ numbers when playing without LeBron and AD are positive whereas his numbers with James and/or Davis have been negative. What’s great about Westbrook as a 6th man role is it allows Russ be Russ. Westbrook surrounded by shooters torching other teams’ second units could be a big part of the Lakers matchup strategy the rest of the year. Imagine Russell with elite 3-point shooters like Melo, Monk, and Ellington.

Nor am I saying Russell Westbrook never starts or closes a game. What I’m saying is the Lakers’ major problem all season long, partly due to injuries and Covid and partly due to poorly conceived and ineffective lineups. This is why the Lakers may need to change head coaches for change to work. Frank Vogel is likely not the best choice as coach to experiment with two superstar lineups without Russ and single superstar lineups with Russ.

The Lakers need to find the optimum situation where Westbrook can have the biggest impact for the Lakers. Part of that solution may be lineups with Russ as the lone superstar surrounded by multiple elite 3-point shooters.

4. Ramp Up Playing Time and Responsibilities for Young Players

After standing pat at the trade deadline, the Lakers need to ramp up the playing time and role responsibilities of talented high-performing young players like Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk, and Austin Reaves.

If the Lakers are going to have any chance of surprising teams and winning in the playoffs, they will need to count on even bigger contributions from this trio of young players, which means giving them more minutes and roles. While the Lakers will seek to bolster their roster with more size and defense from the buyout market, they should give Malik Monk and Austin Reaves starter and closer minutes to accelerate their development.

Beside Monk, Reaves, and Horton-Tucker, the Lakers should also give more minutes to Stanley Johnson in certain matchups and hopefully to Kendrick Nunn when he recovers from his lingering knee injury and is ready to play. Making sure the team’s younger players get minutes and roles to grow and become better is a strategic goal for the rest of the regular season. The Lakers need young players to grow their value as players and trading chips.

Ramping up the playing time and roles for Monk, Reaves, Horton-Tucker, Johnson, and Nunn is one way the Lakers can become a better team over the last 24 games of the regular season and peak heading into the playoffs.

5. Offer Starting Roles to Recruit Players from Buyout Market

With the Lakers not improving themselves at the trade deadline, there will be pressure on Rob Pelinka to find upgrades via the buyout market, which could prove difficult as the Lakers are no longer among the favorites to win.

The one big advantage the Lakers may have over other NBA teams is they are able to offer a point guard like Goran Dragic or shooting guard like Gary Harris guaranteed starting roles the rest of the regular season and playoffs. Buyout free agents who will be looking for ways to impress teams and land a big new contracts could feel playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and starting for the Los Angeles Lakers was gold for their brand.

We know the Lakers successfully used this same exact strategy last season to entice Andre Drummond to sign with the Lakers after being bought out. Unfortunately, they’ll need to be careful not to make that mistake this time. Landing Dragic and/or Harris as starters would certainly be a long shot since both are rumored to be leaning towards the Mavs and Nuggets but an opportunity to showcase their game on the Lakers could be irresistible.

The Lakers should be aggressive in promising top buyout candidates like Goran Dragic and Gary Harris guaranteed starting roles and minutes to entice them to sign with the Lakers as free agents for the rest of the season.