BR- As currently constructed, the Lakers have plenty of guards and wings but are a bit light at center with JaVale McGee the only free-agency addition at the position. Ivica Zubac and rookie Moritz Wagner will need to show they're ready for regular roles.
Nothing about that trio should inspire confidence. Instead, the Lakers' best and only choice may be to deploy James as a small-ball center. "We may not see this on day one, but the coaching staff is eager to see our version of the [Warriors'] Death Lineup with Lonzo [Ball], Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, [Kyle] Kuzma and LeBron," a second Lakers executive said. ------- I guess I can't act surprised. It took the Los Angeles Lakers all of one single afternoon of getting proactively counterproductive to leave everyone feeling underwhelmed about their addition of thee most impactful free agent in NBA history. Therefore, I had no reason to think they weren't capable of trying him out at a position that's even more strenuous than the one he's been stubborn to playing in the past. After no more than a few hours of them smashing blockheads into round holes in their lineup, it was obvious that leaving LeBron in the hands of the Lakers was like gifting a MacBook to an infant. So, the fact that they appear ready to do the equivalent of drooling all over themselves while aimlessly mashing at all the wrong keys of an otherwise versatile "toy" is a pretty fitting sign that they don't even realize that they aren't mature enough to play with it properly. Look, I'd never discount LeBron. If only because he's still the best player on the floor at any given time, there probably be is a way to craft a successive small-ball lineup around him at the 5. The question is whether or not I have confidence in the team that made Lance Stephenson a free agency priority in the year 2018 to completely reinvent one of the most innovative lineups in NBA history, and the answer is...well...stomach busting laughter. If LeBron is going to be "conserving energy" from the same position in which a relentless defender like Draymond Green is used to completely disrupt offenses then the Lakers would need to take the current perogatovies of 'the death lineup' to one of Los Angeles' finest plastic surgeons for a facelift if it had any hopes of resembling a pretty brand of basketball. I suppose with enough trial and error it could potentially work, so it's got to be a huge relief that the player they plan on playing out of position has such an extensive track record of open-mindedness and patience when it comes to coaching...just ask the guy in the picture above! UPDATE: Never mind, the Lakers TOTALLY know what they are doing!
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