4 burning questions about the Los Angeles Lakers roster before the season

By Jason Reed | Sep 13, 2021

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 11: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts with Rajon Rondo #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

The Los Angeles Lakers roster is much different in preparation for the 2021-22 season than it was during the 2020-21 season. After a disappointing early exit in the NBA Playoffs, and several disappointing performances, the Lakers needed a change.

The biggest change was trading for Russell Westbrook in a move that did show some desperation by the Lakers to truly capitalize on what could be a shrinking title window. That was the first domino to fall of many, as the Lakers brought in various minimum players following the trade.

All in all, Rob Pelinka has done a fairly good job. We know what the roster is going to be next season, but we do not yet know all the fine details.

There are four burning questions about the Los Angeles Lakers roster.

1. Who starts at center for the Los Angeles Lakers?

Anthony Davis is likely going to play more center with Russell Westbrook in town but they still need a traditional center to start for the team. The Lakers have both Dwight Howard and recently-signed DeAndre Jordan to compete for minutes with Marc Gasol now out of town.

In reality, the two players offer nearly an identical repertoire to the team and who starts won’t make that big of a difference. They are both rebounding and rim-protecting specialists and the Lakers are not going to ask them to do much more.

Whoever ends up starting more in the regular season will probably be the one that actually gets playing time with the rotation shrinks in the NBA Playoffs. All in all, whoever is the better man in camp will win the award as right now, the team could really go either way.

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