Lakers Roster & Rotations

[TylersLakers]

I worry we have too many guys and people will be unhappy. I'm so glad they paid Vando - because I'm sure if he lost a role or had a diminished role, he'd be unhappy in a contract year.

I think where Darvin has to start is playing the people who make significant money. Regardless of whether they're starting or playing a sizeable role off the bench.

LeBron, AD, Reaves, Rui, D-Lo, Vincent, Vando, Prince.

That's an 8 man rotation. In the regular season, we need 1.5 more guys. I think that'll obviously be Christian Wood.

Everyone else: Reddish, Christie, Hayes, JHS - they're going to have to earn their minutes and role.

[Godfather13]

I don't know that Ham himself shouldn't slowly be rotated out of his position. His rotations were a big problem, before and after the All-Star break. He won't let a solid roster get in the way of his janky rotations.

I thought he was much, much better when he didn't have Westbrook on the team. He settled into a starting line-up for the remainder of the season - Reaves/D-Lo/Vando/LeBron/AD and adjusted well in the first two rounds against Memphis and Golden State. I thought he was terrible against the Nuggets though.

Quite true.

It was also a result of not having many great options to pick from. The Russ cloud lifting gave us a false sense of positivity about what was still a deeply flawed team, which obviously looked awesome in comparison to whatever that roster with Russ was. That roster had TWO active shooters shooting above league average(36.1 3fg%) - Austin & DLo, which should really be a fireable offense for Rob in the lord's year 2023.

Pre Deadline Roster - Rotten sewage water with a layer of scum
Post Deadline Roster - Sewage water with the scum filtered out
2023-24 Roster - Potable Water

While the post deadline record 17-9(57 win pace) was the 2nd best in the West > brought us back from 13th to 7th, we would do well to remember the totally winnable games we managed to lose during the stretch + the number of competing teams(Warriors, Flippers, Dallas, Utah, Thunder & Wolves) were basically tanking during the same period, due to injuries or poor trades made at the deadline. We basically improved, while most of them got worse at the deadline due to trades or injuries to stars(Steph, Kawhi, PG).

[Godfather13]

I worry we have too many guys and people will be unhappy. I'm so glad they paid Vando - because I'm sure if he lost a role or had a diminished role, he'd be unhappy in a contract year.

I think where Darvin has to start is playing the people who make significant money. Regardless of whether they're starting or playing a sizeable role off the bench.

LeBron, AD, Reaves, Rui, D-Lo, Vincent, Vando, Prince.

That's an 8 man rotation. In the regular season, we need 1.5 more guys. I think that'll obviously be Christian Wood.

Everyone else: Reddish, Christie, Hayes, JHS - they're going to have to earn their minutes and role.

Agree with the core you selected + Wood & Christie to round off the 10 man rotation. Too much upside to both of those guys, to not see at least 25 mpg.

Reserves - Reddish, Hayes, JHS, Lewis

[TylersLakers]

I worry we have too many guys and people will be unhappy. I'm so glad they paid Vando - because I'm sure if he lost a role or had a diminished role, he'd be unhappy in a contract year.

I think where Darvin has to start is playing the people who make significant money. Regardless of whether they're starting or playing a sizeable role off the bench.

LeBron, AD, Reaves, Rui, D-Lo, Vincent, Vando, Prince.

That's an 8 man rotation. In the regular season, we need 1.5 more guys. I think that'll obviously be Christian Wood.

Everyone else: Reddish, Christie, Hayes, JHS - they're going to have to earn their minutes and role.

Agree with the core you selected + Wood & Christie to round off the 10 man rotation. Too much upside to both of those guys, to not see at least 25 mpg.

Reserves - Reddish, Hayes, JHS, Lewis

Yep, agreed. If we go 10 guys, Christie vs Reddish will be a very interesting pre-season battle.

And with those other guys - they'll get playing time. If LeBron misses a game, that opens up 30 minutes that Christie and Reddish can slide into.

When AD is out, that's 35 minutes that Hayes is going to have a sizable chunk of + Wood more minutes + Rui more minutes.

[bb22]

Christie is really talented and needs some sort of regular minutes going into year 2. If they can't allocate enough, he's gonna be traded mid season (which would be a shame).

[Beethoven]

Let's get this party started dam.... how long has it been since we've been playing basketball?? Seems like ages I dont even recall who won the championship, other than our impressive run, I dont recall anything else, nothing was memorable about this last season at all.
Let's impress upon ourselves to make a fantastic memorable new season and hopefuly this squad can bring in the 18th banner dammit it has been awhile and there should be no excuses this time, go get it Lakers!!!!!

[Godfather13]

Christie is really talented and needs some sort of regular minutes going into year 2. If they can't allocate enough, he's gonna be traded mid season (which would be a shame).

I don't think there's any chance at all of Max being on the block anytime soon, regardless the minutes. There's no reason to put a clock on his development & he should be allowed at least 2-3 years to grow into a real NBA rotation player. If he does that any sooner, that's a bonus, but I don't see why there would be a deadline like that on him.

I mean, barring some too good to refuse offer like Luka for DLo+things+Max. lol

[Godfather13]

So the starting 4 all but set in stone in Ham's media day interview, who do we have in the SF spot?

DLo
Reaves
--------
Lebron
AD

It's Prince, Rui & Vando for me in that order. I value all the spacing that we can buy our big guys to clear out the paint, and think Prince is a fairly good defender at the same time.


Or is it really gonna be Wood @ 5, with Lebron & AD dropping a spot down?

[DanishLakerFan]

So the starting 4 all but set in stone in Ham's media day interview, who do we have in the SF spot?

DLo
Reaves
--------
Lebron
AD

It's Prince, Rui & Vando for me in that order. I value all the spacing that we can buy our big guys to clear out the paint, and think Prince is a fairly good defender at the same time.

Or is it really gonna be Wood @ 5, with Lebron & AD dropping a spot down?

I think they will start Vando, but i think it should be Prince who should start at the 3.

Prince - Lebron - AD would have plenty of spacing and should be fine defensively.
Vando - Rui - Wood also fit well. Rui is a bruiser who makes sense alongside Wood, as does Vando with his defense.

[Godfather13]

I think they will start Vando, but i think it should be Prince who should start at the 3.

Prince - Lebron - AD would have plenty of spacing and should be fine defensively.
Vando - Rui - Wood also fit well. Rui is a bruiser who makes sense alongside Wood, as does Vando with his defense.

Same page.

AD-Bron need all the spacing they can get. I just don't wanna see Vando in the same line up as them, unless they're closing out a big lead in the 4th.

And Rui & Wood's A+ shot creation bodes well to balance off the offense in the bench units.

[dAdo dA dEvil]

Maybe we get to see different starting unit based on match up?
If we want a balanced offense and defense I think it will be Prince.
Heavy on D it will be Vando.
If we wanna go big it will be Wood.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Rui starting too.

[stan francisco]

So the starting 4 all but set in stone in Ham's media day interview, who do we have in the SF spot?

DLo
Reaves
--------
Lebron
AD

It's Prince, Rui & Vando for me in that order. I value all the spacing that we can buy our big guys to clear out the paint, and think Prince is a fairly good defender at the same time.


Or is it really gonna be Wood @ 5, with Lebron & AD dropping a spot down?

Is this a joke?

Did Ham not watch D Lo choosing not to play ANY defense on any possession against any team for any duration at all in the entire 2022 playoffs?

He plays no-contact ball on that end. Trade him on December 15!

Ham needs to change that plan or leave this franchise. This doesn’t bode well for him. If we don’t win rings, he’s out. If he starts D Lo, we don’t win rings. Don’t believe me? Ask coach Malone.

Re-watch Nuggets series, Ham!!! Every single defensive possession of D Lo’s should be studied on film by both D Lo and Ham.

If I were Rob, I’d tell Ham his duration as a Laker coach depends on the perimeter defense. Why? Because it’s true. He’ll get booted if we don’t win.

We won’t win playing four on five every defensive possession.

Fact.

[Godfather13]

So the starting 4 all but set in stone in Ham's media day interview, who do we have in the SF spot?

DLo
Reaves
--------
Lebron
AD

It's Prince, Rui & Vando for me in that order. I value all the spacing that we can buy our big guys to clear out the paint, and think Prince is a fairly good defender at the same time.


Or is it really gonna be Wood @ 5, with Lebron & AD dropping a spot down?

Is this a joke?

Did Ham not watch D Lo choosing not to play ANY defense on any possession against any team for any duration at all in the entire 2022 playoffs?

He plays no-contact ball on that end. Trade him on December 15!

Ham needs to change that plan or leave this franchise. This doesn’t bode well for him. If we don’t win rings, he’s out. If he starts D Lo, we don’t win rings. Don’t believe me? Ask coach Malone.

Re-watch Nuggets series, Ham!!! Every single defensive possession of D Lo’s should be studied on film by both D Lo and Ham.

If I were Rob, I’d tell Ham his duration as a Laker coach depends on the perimeter defense. Why? Because it’s true. He’ll get booted if we don’t win.

We won’t win playing four on five every defensive possession.

Fact.

I agree that we need to flip DLo, but like his fit next to AD & Lebron because of the spacing and savvy playmaking hi brings us. Heck, I'll flip him for Buddy Heild, if nothing else is available, simply for the off ball movement and legit shooting threat he brings.

That said, teams don't game plan as much to attack a player as much in the regular season. So, Dlo should be fine as a place holder till December. And demoting him to a bench role will probably not be a great move to maximize his trade value at the deadline either. So this makes sense for now.

[stan francisco]

So the starting 4 all but set in stone in Ham's media day interview, who do we have in the SF spot?

DLo
Reaves
--------
Lebron
AD

It's Prince, Rui & Vando for me in that order. I value all the spacing that we can buy our big guys to clear out the paint, and think Prince is a fairly good defender at the same time.


Or is it really gonna be Wood @ 5, with Lebron & AD dropping a spot down?

Is this a joke?

Did Ham not watch D Lo choosing not to play ANY defense on any possession against any team for any duration at all in the entire 2022 playoffs?

He plays no-contact ball on that end. Trade him on December 15!

Ham needs to change that plan or leave this franchise. This doesn’t bode well for him. If we don’t win rings, he’s out. If he starts D Lo, we don’t win rings. Don’t believe me? Ask coach Malone.

Re-watch Nuggets series, Ham!!! Every single defensive possession of D Lo’s should be studied on film by both D Lo and Ham.

If I were Rob, I’d tell Ham his duration as a Laker coach depends on the perimeter defense. Why? Because it’s true. He’ll get booted if we don’t win.

We won’t win playing four on five every defensive possession.

Fact.

I agree that we need to flip DLo, but like his fit next to AD & Lebron because of the spacing and savvy playmaking hi brings us. Heck, I'll flip him for Buddy Heild, if nothing else is available, simply for the off ball movement and legit shooting threat he brings.

That said, teams don't game plan as much to attack a player as much in the regular season. So, Dlo should be fine as a place holder till December. And demoting him to a bench role will probably not be a great move to maximize his trade value at the deadline either. So this makes sense for now.

No defensive interest? Why discuss his offense when it means playing 4 on 5 on the other end? Oh yeah, trade value on Dec 15. You’re right. But there’s no good basketball reason. Every coach in the NBA knows that he sucks more on that end than he adds on the other.

Edit:
D Lo should be handed DVDs to study the positional defense of Rick Fox, the tenacity of Ariza, the help defense by Horry, the wing defense by Kobe, the body up screen crashing defense by Fisher, the team defense by KCP etc in the bubble. Champions because of defensive execution and intelligent reads of plays. Things he can do should he just decide to become a defensive badass.

It’s not like there’s no info to find out there on how, and there’s certainly no shortage of experts on the Lakers staff. It took me one search to find this, all of which he needs to improve on:
https://www.basketballforcoaches.com/basketball-defense-tips/

He’s gifted enough on offense, sees and reads the game well, just needs to appreciate the beauty of great defense and stop trying to hide while on TV. There’s no hiding on the court, and there’s no good excuse for why to hover three arms lengths away from any opponent, around the middle side of the key, aiming for contact-free defense; every possession possible… That’s got to go or he’s got to go. You can’t build defensive culture that way, so, no rings.

I’m actually amazed at how well our defense was constructed and how effective it was despite no in-game adjustments at all; and despite the no defense at all by D Lo.

It boggles my brain why defense isn’t appreciated and noticed more. It’s what wins rings. That’s the difference.

[Godfather13]

No defensive interest? Why discuss his offense when it means playing 4 on 5 on the other end? Oh yeah, trade value on Dec 15. You’re right. But there’s no good basketball reason. Every coach in the NBA knows that he sucks more on that end than he adds on the other.

Edit:
D Lo should be handed DVDs to study the positional defense of Rick Fox, the tenacity of Ariza, the help defense by Horry, the wing defense by Kobe, the body up screen crashing defense by Fisher, the team defense by KCP etc in the bubble. Champions because of defensive execution and intelligent reads of plays. Things he can do should he just decide to become a defensive badass.

It’s not like there’s no info to find out there on how, and there’s certainly no shortage of experts on the Lakers staff. It took me one search to find this, all of which he needs to improve on:
https://www.basketballforcoaches.com/basketball-defense-tips/

He’s gifted enough on offense, sees and reads the game well, just needs to appreciate the beauty of great defense and stop trying to hide while on TV. There’s no hiding on the court, and there’s no good excuse for why to hover three arms lengths away from any opponent, around the middle side of the key, aiming for contact-free defense; every possession possible… That’s got to go or he’s got to go. You can’t build defensive culture that way, so, no rings.

I’m actually amazed at how well our defense was constructed and how effective it was despite no in-game adjustments at all; and despite the no defense at all by D Lo.

It boggles my brain why defense isn’t appreciated and noticed more. It’s what wins rings. That’s the difference.

I get you man. I basically have no appreciation for guys that can be taken advantage of in the playoffs, so my list of guys I wanna get rid of includes Vando. But I'm generally pretty happy with the roster. Looking at what Boston did, obviously shook me & I do want/need improvements to close out the holes in our squad to be able to go toe to toe with the top teams.

I figure our weakest area is Point of Attack defense. My ideal picks for trade targets for Vando & DLo would actually be Kuz & Caruso respectively. But I'm guessing that costs more draft capital than we can afford, in which case I'd probably try to still get one of those for a protected first. AC is in his last 2 years, and Bulls should hopefully be able to bring themselves to the reality of their situation, and try to perhaps get a pick for AC, which begins their blow up by the deadline.

Given how the roster is built, I'm really not concerned about a depth issue if we loose DLo or Vando for some quality at a different position.
For DLo - We have a lot of high quality shot creation & playmaking throughout the roster - Lebron, AD, Rui, Reaves, Gabe, Wood, Prince, Max, Cam, unlike the last two years.
For Vando - Reaves & Gabe aren't 6'1" guards, and we have Max, JHS, Cam, Prince, Rui & Lebron to stick into the wing spot.

I have my doubts that we trade Vando immediately after extending him. Seems to be a key piece in the eyes of the FO. But DLo, for sure gotta go.

[TylersLakers]

Man.. that Wood/AD/LeBron/Vincent/Reaves was a beautiful lineup that started this second quarter of the Brooklyn pre season game. You see the advantages of AD at the 4 with that unit so bad.

[TyCobb]

Wood is just so low IQ. Yeeesh

[Ball so hard]

Wood is just so low IQ. Yeeesh

Yeah, that’s the vibe I’m getting as well. On defense it’s most apparent.

[Godfather13]

Wood is just so low IQ. Yeeesh

Defense just doesn't seem to motivate him. I've liked his decisions on offense most of the time. He's also suffering from poor conditioning - Ham and he commented on that. Has looked terribly slow. All that will have to change fast, if he wants the minutes he needs to get paid next year. Ham's been pretty clear about that since the beginning, which is a sentiment that he has resonated with, at least verbally.

Incredibly skilled offensive player - a talent that is certainly usable. We will need to learn to use him though. I saw like 4 possessions in the Warriors game where Gabe and Dlo, just ignored him wide open after a pick and a pop, only to shoot contested jumpers 3/4 times. Gotta use his elite shooting threat in those instances, to open up driving iso lanes for themselves the next possession.


All that said, I'm pleasantly surprised at Hayes being considerably better as a system player, defensively & offensively thus far. Dude's been doing all the little things(setting hard picks, rim running for ORBs, DHOs, tracking back on defense) so well with a high level of enthusiasm.

Through two games(tiny sample size) -
Wood -19
Hayes +19

I guess Wood can be allowed 15-20 regular season games to get his act together, which is when we start thinking about our long term plans with him. He's probably untradeable till Jan 15th anyway.

[ROballer]

That's a trend with Wood everywhere he went. He's one of the biggest losers in NBA history, I saw a stat of his teams record when he sees 20 minutes in a game, can't remember the exact number but it was abysmal.

He's a net negative player who shouldn't sniff more than 15 mpg on any given night. Zero in the playoffs.

I don't think you have the room to play both Hayes and Wood when AD is healthy. If you do play them both, everyone from Prince/Hachimura/Vanderbilt/Christie automatically will see lesser minutes which is a big no no for vastly better players, just to make room for a low impact scrub.


It's gonna have to be one or the other to backup Davis, the Wenyen Gabriel vs Thomas Bryant battle all over again.
Funny enough, Hayes probably resembles Gabriel and Wood resembles Bryant.

The preseason will be probably used to settle this positional dispute. As of right now, I prefer Hayes.