new from day one los angeles lakers Coach Durbin Hamm talked about instilling a defensive culture and holding players (even superstars) accountable. Like Frank Vogel.
Several players who left the Lakers are back on minimum contracts: Dennis Schroeder, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant. Trevor Ariza and Avery Bradley have all made minimal comebacks, but none are currently on the NBA roster.
Russell Westbrook is also back after a summer trade speculation. And once again during preseason, people are arguing Whether Anthony Davis will start at center.
So who has to believe that the next season will be anything but the dark and depressing ones that came before it?
For one thing, Davis, who only played 40 games last year, and only 22 alongside LeBron James, is likely to play more often. Having something akin to continuity, they can mix and match different lineup combinations and land in a relatively stable rotation. , never played together for more than 89 minutes.
With Davis’ presence and generally injury luck, that team wouldn’t have been a contender. Shooters couldn’t defend, defenders couldn’t shoot, and the Blockbuster deal was busts from blocks. At the end of August, Los Angeles announced Tarren Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson. utah jazz For Patrick Beverley, it’s just the kind of player that didn’t exist last season. He is a physical defender on offense, enjoys the opportunity to check out the bigger players, and has spent most of his career playing with ball-dominant stars.
With the exception of Beverley, who turned 34 in July, the Lakers have been eyeing players much younger than they have been targeting in recent seasons. The oldest free agent additions are speedy Schroeder and domineering Juan Toscano Anderson, both 29 years old. Joining them are wingers Lonnie Walker IV and Troy Brown Jr., who finished their rookie contracts at the age of 23. Jones and Bryant are 27 and he is 25 respectively.
Walker, who was signed on the taxpayers intermediate level exception, effectively replaces Malik Monk. Kendrick His Nunn, who signed for Mini-His MLE in 2021, is finally healthy after missing his entire first season in Los Angeles with a knee injury. Toscano-Anderson makes the frontcourt more versatile, Brown theoretically does the same on the wing, and Jones does big things outside of shooting that Bryant in the stretch five doesn’t. Some of the new signings won’t play much, but the returning Austin Reeves will certainly play. By default, Reeves’ appearance was the best thing that happened to the Lakers last season.
Expectations are not particularly high for LeBron’s team.The roster feels cobbled together because it was, and almost certainly is, because it feels incomplete, with Westbrook’s $47 million expiring contract on it all. , his 2027 and his 2029 unprotected first-round picks for the Lakers are Available when the right deal occursBut the moment they part ways with them, this strange intermediate phase is over and they’re all-in on what they’re back with. You can’t, and when they’re gone, there isn’t much left.
conversation
Lakers devotees: Everyone likes to take shots at the Lakers.Everyone is trying to make fun of Russell Westbrook, the deal that brought him to LA, and the fact that he’s still there.・It means that you are hiring James. When Anthony Davis. Therefore.
Lakers Skeptical: I promise no one forgot that the Lakers are hiring LeBron and AD. Is it really the best you have?
Lakers devotees: … No, of course we’re just getting started. Well, Juan Toscano Anderson was a really great pickup. He’s smart, unselfish, athletic, and switchable. Lonnie Walker IV can get buckets. Patrick Beverly means everything in the world next to LeBron.Dennis Schroeder is back for the right price. Damian Jones should never have run away in the first place. It’s time for Kendrick Nunn. Oh, and Matt Ryan’s shooting is insane.did you know him worked at the cemetery last yearI think he deserves a roster.?
Lakers Skeptical: It turns out that your heart is really not in this. You put yourself into the Westbrook deal that crumbles the franchise in the same way you talked yourself into the ill-considered Schroeder and Montrez Harrell signings and Andre Drummond’s experiments that ruin chemistry. I’ve been plagued by a lot of opinions about Talen Horton-Tucker’s potential. You’re not even trying to convince me that the Lakers are trying to get along with Westbrook, and you’re not making any reckless declarations about the Lakers fighting for the title. fine.
lakers believer: Stop! The last few seasons may have softened my expectations, but that’s perfectly normal. As long as LeBron and AD are relatively healthy, I think the Lakers can comfortably make it to the playoffs. As for Westbrook, let’s be honest, with Beverly on the team and Schroeder in the mix, we expect him to be traded within the next four months. Too much, so I’d love to see Durbin Hamm pair him with Beverly in the backcourt of the Davis-at-5 lineup.
Lakers Skeptical: How painful was it to bring up the Davis at 5 lineup again? Let’s see what Davis himself said about it on wednesday“I trust the coach’s decision, I mean I’m sure he heard AD want to play 4, so he knows my position, but at the end of the day, I’m I want to win, so if it’s me, 5, it should be.” That doesn’t sound like someone who’s excited about this possibility. It should already be completed.RELATED: Why exactly is Rob Pelinka receive an extension?
Lakers devotees: Like everyone else, I’ve been thinking about what this team would look like with Turner and Buddy Hield in place of Westbrook. is certainly an attractive proposition from a defensive standpoint, and Hield’s off-ball movement gives another dimension to the offense. I can’t justify abandoning the pick of, but I respect that. That package probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Something better may come out between now and the deadline.
Lakers Skeptical: like what? It’s not like Pau Gasol is falling out of the sky trying to save the franchise again. Expiring contracts and two picks just can’t make it if another superstar becomes available. LeBron turned 38 in December, and the Lakers have failed spectacularly in his three of his four seasons with the team. What’s wrong with the Turner-Hield package? No playmaking? LeBron has a lot more to play! In this desperate situation they can’t wait for the perfect deal.
Lakers devotees: are you begging come. That shouldn’t be the case with the Los Angeles Lakers, or any team for that matter.Besides, LeBron However I signed a two-year extension. And why are the same people who claim the Lakers are terrible asking to cash in their chips ASAP? ? At least be consistent.
Lakers Skeptical: Correction: Functionally it’s just a one year extension. He has his 2024-25 player option. Another correction: I never said the Lakers were garbage. However, they made some garbage decisions, especially in the 2021 offseason. I forgot. Also Traded with the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 draft.of Pacers He ended up with that pick and got Isiah Jackson, who will probably start on this Lakers team. It’s wild! By the way, Quentin Grimes, Bones Hyland and Herb Jones were also in attendance. Any of those guys would have paired well with Alex Caruso, and I think Wesley Matthews was a great mentor, especially for Grimes.
Lakers devotees: FFFFFFFFFFFINE. you broke me Swap your picks for Turner and Heald. Throw DANIEL THEIS into the deal too. Anything is fine. Get some capable adults on this team and balance the roster a bit. LeBron deserves better than this. Los Angeles deserves better than this. And let’s be honest: The supporting cast hasn’t been perfect in 2020 either. please.
Lakers Skeptical: I knew you would find your way here. Welcome. Yes, scented candles. pumpkin spice.
Curiosity: Lonnie Walker IV
It’s easy to make fun of the Lakers for signing Walker.After shooting a cumulative 40.3 percent from three-point range, his first two seasons San Antonio Spurs, he shot 35.5% in year 3 and 31.4% in year 4 in a much larger sample. Walker always took his two seconds long, never shot efficiently, and was never an above-average defender. San Antonio usually hid him in the perimeter player who seemed the least threatening.
And for a second-draft guy, Walker was expensive. are now left with minimal contracts. (One ramification: They could only sign 19-year-old Max Christie, the 35th pick in the draft, to a two-year deal. If Christie shines in his second season, the Lakers will give must decide whether 11 teams will sign his second-round pick on a standard contract and Atlanta Hawks Only one other person has done it this way. )
However, if Walker is productive, no one cares about that. At 24, you can be sure he has star potential when you look at his highlights with his smooth jumper and eye-catching athleticism. With this Lakers team, if he comes close to what Malik Monk brought to the offense last season, and not the other side’s responsibilities, the signing looks like a huge success.
And if it turns out to be a huge success, the Lakers might actually be able to keep him, which wasn’t the case with Monk. It’s not going to drop the price right away when you become an agency.
one more
The importance of Davis’ jumper cannot be overemphasized. The 2020 playoffs were the high water mark of his career, and at times he felt he couldn’t pass up. In his 21 games, Davis has scored 2.9 tries per game, shooting from his 3-point range 38.3%, and according to Cleaning The Glass, his long two success rate is his was 49%. In his two seasons since then, Davis has cumulatively scored 22.9% of him from deep and 38% from long two.
Recently, Davis said the offseason was devoted to fixing his shot. Via Athleticand this was due to a wrist injury he suffered in January.
“That’s it,” said Davis. “I have never lost confidence in my shots. I am just battling a minor wrist injury.”
Davis added that he is now “perfectly healthy” and is regaining muscle memory from behind the arc. It would go a long way to improving L.A.’s spacing if it has to be respected. I’m not going to put his preseason stats here because the sample is too small to make any sense, but the form looks good.
