Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve Michael Beasley, who was named as a potential option at the center position.
With training camp right around the corner, Los Angeles Lakers rumors are going to pick up. There will be plenty of Lakers rumors about the final roster spot that was opened up with the Luol Deng buyout.
While there aren’t any immediate plans to fill the spot, according to reports, the Lakers could use a little help at some spots. One spot the Lakers have some question marks at is center.
Last season’s starting center, Brook Lopez, left in free agency. The Lakers did little to shore up the position, as a first-round pick was used on Moritz Wagner and JaVale McGee was signed in free agency. Ivica Zubac is the only holdover at the position from last season.
Wagner can replicate Lopez offensively, but defensively he leaves a lot to be desired. McGee cannot play much more than 15 minutes per game given his health restrictions. Zubac is unproven as well.
Given the depth at center, Luke Walton will have to get creative when figuring out the center position. LeBron James has been mentioned as a candidate to soak up some minutes at the five, but it is something he has been reluctant to do.
Who else could the Lakers use at the center position? Given the versatility of the roster, Walton will have some options for lineup configurations. Magic Johnson added another name to that list: Michael Beasley.
Tania Ganguli shared the news via her Twitter account. Johnson said the team is very happy about the center position and will leave things up to Walton. Johnson mentioned Beasley along with McGee as two options.
"We're very happy," Magic Johnson says when asked about the center position. Talks about how the game has changed and says he'll leave things up to Luke Walton. Mentions Beasley and McGee.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) September 20, 2018
Beasley has some experience playing center in his career. According to Basketball-Reference, 12 percent of Beasley’s career minutes have come at the center position.
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Beasley would present a huge mismatch offensively at the center position. There are very few, if any, traditional centers, let alone big men, that can check Beasley one-on-one. Beasley is a walking bucket that can score from virtually anywhere on the court in a multitude of ways.
Beasley also won’t hurt you on the glass if he is playing the 4 or 5. He is a very good rebounder and gets the job done in that area. However, Beasley doesn’t bring much defensively.
A big reason that the Golden State Warriors’ schemes work with Draymond Green at center is his defensive ability. Green can defend 1-5 and his surrounded by players and has a rim protector in Kevin Durant to help.
As things are currently situated on the Lakers roster, they don’t really have a player that could help offset Beasley’s shortcomings defense. James is capable of that, but asking him to do that for all 82 games is not going to happen.
It is an interesting idea to deploy Beasley at center, but it should probably not be a regular thing. In spurs, such as if the Lakers need a spark offensively, it could work. Relying on Beasley to play center regularly does not sound like a recipe for success for the Lakers.