Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Reasons to embrace tanking the rest of the season

– Gives young players a chance

Even though the Lakers didn’t beat the Denver Nuggets in their most recent game, it was some of the best efforts we have seen from the team in a long time. The Summer League Lakers led by Alex Caruso, Moritz Wagner, Johnathan Williams, and Josh Hart made it a game against the Nuggets.

Obviously, that is not the best lineup that the Lakers can use on the court, but it was one that really brought a lot of effort and heart to the game. With the Nuggets up big, that unit with either LeBron James or Rajon Rondo performed quite well.

Due to all of the injuries, the Lakers will likely be using those players a lot more for the rest of the season. As we saw last year at the end of the season, giving minutes to young players can be valuable. Hart closed out the season really strong last year and turned that momentum into a Summer League MVP award.

One guy that really should get more minutes is Wagner. As a first-round pick of the Lakers, Wagner really didn’t play that much in meaningful spots this season. With the season over, the Lakers should be playing him a lot more to see what they have in the young big man.