Los Angeles Lakers’ things to keep an eye on: 2. Dion Waiters
Dion Waiters is in a very similar situation as Markieff Morris as he is a new face on the Los Angeles Lakers that has not been able to carve out a playoff role on the team and these eight games will be crucial in finding his role.
However, there are two things that set Waiters apart from Morris. First, is that he does not have a direct player that he is going to compete with, as Morris is with Kuzma. You could make the case that Waiters can essentially replace Rajon Rondo in the rotation but that is something that could happen on next year’s team.
For now, Rondo is still going to be used, even if Waiters does get a somewhat noticeable workload with the Lakers. He wouldn’t take a significant number of minutes from Rondo for this year’s playoffs.
The second thing that differentiates the two players is that Waiters has not even played a single minute with the Los Angeles Lakers this season and has only played three games this season.
If there are worries about the rest of the guys getting accustomed again to NBA speed then there should be even bigger worries about Waiters getting back up to speed.
On paper, Waiters is a perfect fit for the Los Angeles Lakers and I think that will help him get a role with the team next year. He is someone who can handle the ball and facilitate while LeBron James is on the bench but he can also be an off-ball asset, something Rondo is not great at.
However, if he is not ready then he is not ready and he only has eight games to prove if he is or if he isn’t. Watch him carefully.