3. The Uncertain Player Rotation
Coach Luke Walton will be challenged this year to establish a regular rotation of players. The 17-man roster shapes up something like this (although there will be much position flexibility):
Point Guard Shooting Guard Small Forward Power Forward Center
Ball KCP Ingram James McGee
Rondo Hart Kuzma Beasley Zubac
Caruso Svi Stephenson Wear Wagner
Bonga Deng
The numbers can be partially reduced quickly. Rookie Isaac Bonga is admittedly a work in progress who will almost certainly play all year in the G League. Both Alex Caruso and Travis Wear are 2-way players who will probably only suit up for the Lakers if/when the team suffers injuries.
Things can always change, but at this point it looks like it could be a repeat of last season for Luol Deng, who started on opening night and never played the rest of the year.
That leaves 13 players. Luke will probably go with a 10 or 11-man rotation, which means for every given game, 2-3 guys won’t leave the bench. Who will they be? Which approach will Walton take? Will he go all-out to win games, or will he favor player development?
LeBron obviously will play major minutes, although perhaps fewer than he ever has before as a concession to the mileage his body has already endured.
How will Luke dole out minutes at the team’s weakest position, center? McGee is presumably the starter. Zubac reportedly had a very good summer playing in the European championships. Will that experience help him be a better NBA center? Will Wagner play good enough defense to man the 5 position?
The Lakers will likely play small ball at least part of the time. It’s exciting to anticipate a fourth quarter with LBJ at center. Will they also try to play Beasley there against opponents with a weak offensive center?
At other positions, each of the young core four (Ingram, Ball, Kuzma and Hart) should get the court time they need to develop. But it won’t be easy to balance their playing time with that given to the 5 veterans, and then also give looks to players like Zubac, Wagner and Svi.
Think of it this way: every minute that a vet like Stephenson or Beasley plays is a minute that someone like Kuzma, Wagner, Hart or even Svi could have played.
At this early juncture the best guess is that, at least to start the season, the two rookies will be the odd men out. If Luke goes with a 10-man rotation, some other player also stays on the bench.
But at some point, the Lakers will logically want to see how youngsters like Wagner and Svi look. And that probably means some of the veterans (like Stephenson, McGee and/or Beasley) will sit out games.
How will a volatile personality like Stephenson react to a series of DNPs (did not play)? How well will Rondo handle it if Ball plays the fourth quarter of a tight game? Will either start howling at the moon in protest? What impact would that have on team chemistry?
Magic and Rob did Luke no favors by signing multiple players with histories of discord. They’ve expressed confidence that Walton gets along well with all types of personalities. But at best, that strength should be severely tested this year. At worst, it could blow the team apart and cost Luke his job.
The situation is obviously not one designed to win a title.