With it looking increasingly more likely the Lakers’ roster will stay the same, I wrote about three in-house developments that could lead to improvement this season. My latest for @LakersSBN. https://t.co/8p4hl5jQoq
— Alex Regla (@AlexmRegla) July 15, 2024
1. Optimizing their lineups
Ham’s struggles with his starting five stemmed from his confusing decision to go away from groups that excelled during the Lakers’ trip to the Western Conference Finals, namely, surrounding D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Anthony Davis with one of Rui Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt.
2. Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent shore up the perimeter
With the duo back in the fold this season, the Lakers and Redick should benefit from having more options to turn to. Although they weren’t external additions, they will be useful additions to the roster nonetheless.
3. Max Christie takes a leap
Due to his ability to space the floor, Christie has also shown a knack for attacking hard closeouts and the rim with ferocity. Extra dimensions to his game that suggest more layers still to be revealed.
With Prince’s aforementioned departure and no additions to the wing core as of this article, Christie will be expected to step up and into his biggest role yet. How well he fares could end up being one of the biggest swing outcomes of the Lakers’ season.
Looking at the entire landscape right now….I think our ceiling is barely avoiding the play-in. You’ve got teams like HOU & MEM who will definitely be in the picture this season.