The start of the regular season brought with it lots to be happy about in Tuesday’s rout of the Warriors. The new Big 3 had huge nights and gave the Lakers a great opening to the season.
Prior to all that, we asked for questions and you guys delivered, as always. Obviously, some of this will come with a caveat of it coming before that opening game, but all of it still applies.
So, let’s dive into what you want to talk about.
JJ claims he has a roster that fits together now and is deep….does that mean
he will refrain from playing Luka and Austin 45 minutes a game? — Reality Check 1617
I continue to say this sentiment is overblown, but I also acknowledge, and I think JJ would, too, that he couldn’t rely on his bench as much this year. By all accounts, that should change.
Again, he even said as much in his media availability at the start of the season. We’ll have to see if the action meet the words, but, on paper, this is a deeper team that should mean everyone plays fewer minutes, particularly the stars.
The fact they went nine deep on Tuesday with Collin Sexton and Adou Thiero injured further drives home that belief, though. When at full health — which will likely happen rarely this season — this team could go 10 or 11 deep. That should allow them lots of rest for lots of guys, stars included.
How much should we be worried about our scouting, player development, and drafting departments? I know we’ve been hiring and changing since the ownership changes, but how much can we count on this fresh start and new personnel being a new direction? — Johnny Tuttle
I don’t think worried is the word I would use, but excited. It’s no secret the Lakers have been well behind the curve when it comes to scouting. That fact is laid bare in the team whiffing on Jalen Hood-Schifino and Dalton Knecht back-to-back years.
Beefing up those areas should address a clear weakness in the franchise. Think about how many positions the Lakers have filled this year that just didn’t exist prior. There are not just more knowledgeable voices in the mix, but ones with decades of experience, too.
For so long, the Lakers kept such a small inner circle in the front office. Seeing that expand to include more smart voices is a very, very welcome change.
What is the back story on the trade of Ayton? On the surface, it made and makes little sense to have traded a guy who, yeah, was ‘meh’ as a starter but would have been well above average as a back-up. Lakers got back relatively little and since then have been searching for a backup center…when they had just traded a good one.
So:
-is it that they had another trade lined up for a back up center but it fell through?
-is it that Ayton was a locker room cancer who they just wanted to be rid of whatever his skills?
-is it that they think Looney is a better fit?
-is it…just a miscalculation? — scooter
I think this is one of those situations where things are better on better than they are in practice.
On paper, the Lakers had an underwhelming starting center who was still talented on an affordable contract. After acquiring their starting center, Ayton made sense as the backup where so much wasn’t riding on his shoulders.
In practice, and with a bit of reading between the lines, Ayton was…a lot. While we laughed at the idea of the training staff giving him Crunk Juice to motivate him, the amount of massaging of his personality, so to speak, only for him not to really show up when needed was probably grating.
He was proclaiming that he wasn’t Clint Capela when that’s exactly what the Lakers needed. The team was wearing shirts with half of his face and half of a lion. All that for him to be unplayable against the Thunder was a lot.
Sure, in a backup role, responsibilities and expectations change. But I just think the Lakers were ready to be out of the Ayton business. And the fact that they could get draft capital back for him was all the more reason to be done.
I think their calculation was that going into the season looking for a backup center with some extra draft capital was better than another season of the Ayton experience.
As I understand, the first that the Lakers can trade Bronny is December 15th. Am I correct on that? As such, shouldn’t they stick him in the G League where he can actually rack up stat lines and possibly increase his trade value? — OCLakerFan1968
The Lakers play the Sixers twice this season. The first game is on December 25th in LA. What are the chances that the Lakers’ marketing department capitalizes on the historic nature of Father versus Son and have Bronny start? — Crap
After a very poor preseason, it’s fair to be low on Bronny. Even if he was dealing with an injury that predated training camp, that feels like the kind of story you put out to save face after the fact.
I’ve had some questions about how the Lakers are developing Bronny, or what they’re developing him into. He’s always felt like more of an Avery Bradley type as a small off-ball guard with a focus on defense and shooting. But a lot of his reps have come as an on-ball point guard type, which doesn’t make as much sense.
Regardless of what his role should be, it’s pretty clear now that the scouting report says to pressure Bronny and he can’t deal with it. And until that changes, he’s probably not going to get any consistent minutes.
Having said that, there’s zero value in putting him back in the G League. He’s already shown he’s a great G League player. No team is going to trade for him because he had a couple of good G League games. It’s sink-or-swim time for Bronny in the big leagues.
At some point, you have to find out what you have and the Lakers are going to do that this season. If it doesn’t work, then they decline his option for next year and cut bait.
As for the latter point, I know it was at least partly written in jest, but I don’t imagine head coach JJ Redick has much interest in sentimental stuff with LeBron James anymore.
What is our biggest positional with this current roster?
Backup PG – We saw how thin we are if any of Luka/AR/Sexton are resting injuries
Backup PF – I guess we are calling Williams and Mamu our PFs?
Backup C – Does ANYONE have faith in both Kessler’s health and Looney actually being productive? — Kilgary
I think the answer is pretty clearly the backup center spot, and I think the Lakers know that. That’s been the most persistent rumor since this summer. Trades tend not to happen until that Dec. 15 date when most of the league becomes trade-eligible, so I don’t imagine this is something the team will be able to fix for some time.
The backup PG position isn’t as bad when Collin Sexton returns. You have four capable ballhandlers. And for the backup power forward, the dearth of wings on the roster are going to man that spot and I don’t think this team will have a “traditional” four.
The NBA announced in the off season that the officials would crack down (point of emphasis) on the off-arm push-offs frequently used by players like Harden, and SGA. Was any data released from the pre-season games on whether the officials were calling this violation more frequently than before (knowing that the calls might be fewer if players were policing themselves)? — Coops Knee Highs
There hasn’t been and I don’t expect there will be. In the past, the league has never really done something like this when it comes to its points of emphasis. Things could change this year, but that would be a new development.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
