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Los Angeles Lakers: How would they be if they hadn’t traded for Anthony Davis?

By Addam Goldman

(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers
Photo by Mintaha Neslihan Eroglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /

The Lakers Lineup this season if they hadn’t traded for AD

We could spend hours speculating about which free agents the Lakers front office would have signed if they hadn’t traded for Anthony Davis over the summer. Since none of us are mind readers, we’ll assume that they would have signed Danny Green, who was still happy to take home $15 million per year, despite the fact AD wasn’t on the squad. We’ll further presuppose that Avery Bradley, Jared Dudley, and Dwight Howard also signed on the dotted line. Also, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, and JaVale McGee re-upped. Finally, we’ll stay on course and say that Markieff Morris and Dion Waiters would join the club mid-season.

In this situation, the Lakers would have had a surplus of talent, so there would have been no room on the squad for Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley, and Troy Daniels.

Starters

  • PG: Avery Bradley
  • SG: Danny Green
  • SF: Brandon Ingram
  • PF: LeBron James
  • C: JaVale McGee

The starters would remain the same, except we’d flip Brandon Ingram’s 24 points per game for Anthony Davis’s 27 PPG.

Lonzo Ball is a better overall player than Avery Bradley. Still, the former Boston Celtic meshes better with LeBron James in the starting unit. The rest of the Lakers starters are apparent. Danny Green is the best shooting guard on the squad, and Ingram is an All-Star who would be the Lakers second-best player. LeBron James is still the best player in the association and the only athlete on this roster capable of manning the power forward position against other NBA starters. JaVale McGee is one of the few legitimate 7-footers in the league. He’s a guy who alters numerous shots each time he suits up.

Bench

  • PG: Lonzo Ball
  • SG: Alex Caruso
  • SF: Kyle Kuzma
  • PF: Markieff Morris
  • C: Dwight Howard

This bench unit would have been potent. Lonzo Ball would have been the best point guard on the roster. You could make an argument for KCP as the Lakers second-string shooting guard. He’s been LA’s best outside shooter this season, but we’ll take Caruso’s defense and playmaking. Kyle Kuzma would get to play backup small forward, his natural position. Markieff Morris is one of the best backup 4’s in the association, capable of spreading the floor and bodying up his assignment on the less glamorous side of the ball. Naturally, Dwight Howard would play a prominent role as the Lakers backup center.

Spot Duty

  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
  • Josh Hart
  • Rajon Rondo
  • D’Andre Hunter (Presumably the player Rob Pelinka would have chosen with the 4th pick in the 2019 draft).
  • Dion Waiters

This version of the Lakers is incredibly deep. Two quality role players, KCP and Josh Hart would barely find playing time. De’Andre Hunter would have been an exciting addition to the lineup. Some folks might have wanted to see him spend the year developing in the G-League. But he’s already a better overall player than Cook, Daniels, and Dudley.

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