4. He adds quality depth
Another thing you need to be a successful running team is plenty of depth. It really helps when you can have a 10-man rotation because you should always have fresh guys in the game who can run, shoot, handle the ball and make plays for others. With their depth, the Lakers could wear out a lot of teams this season.
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Running teams who lack depth can be doomed to failure. Magic Johnson’s Lakers started relying on an eight-man rotation by the late 80’s, and the mileage started to add up. After going undefeated in the first three rounds of the 1989 NBA playoffs, Johnson and Byron Scott tore their hamstrings, leading to their team getting swept by the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. Just like that, the curtain started closing on Showtime.
Today’s Lakers need to start thinking in terms of conserving and extending the career of the soon-to-be 34-year-old Lebron James if they want to give themselves the best chances of winning at least one ring with him. This is where Beasley can really help, as he, at this point in his career, is best suited to playing the 4, just like Lebron is at this later stage of his career.
It can work a little like this. Between Christmas and March, which is when physical and mental fatigue starts to really set in, Lebron may feel like he wants to take some games off not because he’s injured but because he just doesn’t feel like playing and wants to rest, as he did several times in the 2016-17 season. The presence of Beasley can allow Lebron to get valuable rest without actually sitting out by simply playing fewer minutes without it hurting the Lakers.
When fatigue starts affecting key starters who play heavy minutes, it is up to the bench to give the team that proverbial shot in the arm. Beasley has the talent and gifts to start on many teams, and therefore he gives the Lakers a luxury; a bench player who can come in and instantly give the team some big-time pop. A la Bob McAdoo, the former scoring champ, and MVP, who came off the bench and helped Showtime win NBA titles in 1982 and 1985.
The Lakers look like they will go at least two-deep at each position, partly because Lebron is also expected to play some minutes at the 5 in L.A.’s version of the Warriors’ “death lineup”. This would free up even more minutes for Beasley, at least in theory.