Aside from the obvious Russell Westbrook struggles, the Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest issue last season was their inability to find production from their bench. The team was left playing a lineup with Wenyen Gabriel and Stanley Johnson in crunch time. This speaks to the absolute desperation the team had at the end of the season to find anyone capable of playing defense and providing a spark off the bench.
With the vast majority of the Lakers team entering free agency, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Austin Reaves become the only returning member from last year’s bench. Reaves had an up-and-down season but put together a solid enough performance to earn a bench role heading into next season.
With the obvious questions surrounding LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis looming there is one certainty. No matter which stars return for this team, one thing is clear:
The Los Angeles Lakers bench has to improve both in talent and depth.
The Lakers need players capable of playing defense and not giving up the lead anytime LeBron isn’t on the court. Not only did the Lakers manage to put together a bench that struggled to play defense they had difficulty scoring with any consistency.
Carmelo Anthony was the one consistent bench scorer for the Lakers. While his defense is lacking at this point in his career Anthony still had great moments in a Lakers uniform and could be brought back if the defense around him is improved. That starts with the Lakers looking into bringing these role players to L.A. to play alongside LeBron.