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Los Angeles Lakers: Projecting their rotation with Paul George

By Matt Leaman

Mar 15, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) on the court in the second half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana Pacers beat the Charlotte Hornets 98-77.Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) on the court in the second half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana Pacers beat the Charlotte Hornets 98-77.Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 4, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) reacts during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Brooklyn Nets won 141-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

C- Brook Lopez

Just acquired from Brooklyn in exchange for D’Angelo Russel and Timofey Mozgov, Lopez had one of his best offensive seasons last year with the abysmal Nets. On a team that went just 20-62 last season, Lopez managed to average 20.5 points a game and grabbed 5.6 rebounds a game, his lowest rebound total since the 2011-12 season. Going to the Lakers will be a great move for Lopez, who is from North Hollywood. He also attended Stanford University during his college days. Change of scenery (getting out of Brooklyn) will definitely boost his career as well.

Going forward, Lonzo Ball and Brook Lopez could form a good combination. Ball has a proven scorer in the post that he can get the ball to when they need a basket on the offensive end. They will also be able to run some pick and rolls when things get stagnant offensively.

To continue, with just one year left on his current contract, the Lakers won’t have to bring him back next year if things don’t pan out how they envisioned this coming year. If the Lopez experiment fails they can trade him away with virtually no risk at all. This flexibility will be a positive going forward. With Lopez’ expiring contract this offseason it also allows the Lakers to create more cap space for the master plan of landing LeBron James next offseason to play along with Paul George.

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The Bench

To conclude, the Lakers could round out their roster with an impressive young bench with players waiting for their opportunity to shine in the coming years. These players include Jordan Clarkson if not traded, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr., Ivica Zubac, and the one veteran, Corey Brewer. All of these players minus Brewer are 25 years or younger.

The hope is Ingram can become a star and will take over Deng’s spot in the rotation when his skills develop as he matures as a player. During Ingram’s first NBA season last year, he averaged 9.4 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists in 89 games, of which he started 40 of.

Whether or not the Lakers get Paul George this offseason is still a big question mark. He will likely become a Laker, it’s just a matter of when.

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