Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons to add Sekou Doumbouya to the rotation
By Jason Reed
The 2021-22 season has not begun like the Los Angeles Lakers would have hoped. The team currently has a 5-5 record despite having one of the easiest starts to the season. The team is already dealing with injuries, with LeBron James missing multiple games and the rotation being down a handful of players.
That has presented opportunities to players that may have not received them on this team. Austin Reaves has made the most of his chances and Sekou Doumbouya turned heads in his Lakers debut on Saturday night.
Doumbouya played great, scoring 10 points in eight minutes without missing a shot. While this is just one game, and he won’t play a huge role, this showed that Doumbouya should become a member of the Lakers rotation.
Perhaps he is not a part of the rotation for the rest of the season and when the Lakers get healthy he can go back down to the G League. However, right now, there are several reasons to make room for Doumbouya in the rotation, even when LeBron James plays.
Why Sekou Doumbouya should be a full-time member of the Los Angeles Lakers rotation:
1. The two-way contract is not restricting
Doumbouya is on a two-way contract and he is allowed to play up to 50 games in the regular season. With the Lakers already 10 games in, Doubmouya can play around 70% of the remaining season and the team can always convert his contract down the line (someone would have to be released to make room).
The team can definitely keep him up for the time being. The two-way contract might seem restricting on paper but the Lakers can get a lot out of him. There is no reason to “save” his games played for the end of the season, the Lakers need his help now while guys are hurt.
Which gets into our second point…