The Los Angeles Lakers were off to the worst start in the entire NBA this season but the team has slowly been able to claw back and give fans hope. Los Angeles has won three games in a row at the time of writing this and has looked like a completely different team in the process.
There is still a lot of work to be done but with the schedule easing up and the team getting healthier, there is actual optimism around the Lakers after such a dreadful start.
The team getting healthy is allowing Darvin Ham to put together a much more complete rotation and in doing so, there are underwhelming players on the roster who simply have to get the boot. Los Angeles has gotten Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schroder back already. Once LeBron James returns, we will get an idea of what this team will truly look like.
3 Lakers who should be booted from the rotation:
3. Damian Jones
Damian Jones was already such a small part of the rotation as is that him getting booted out of it really is not that big of a change. Jones was already playing such a minuscule role and it was clear that Ham and the team did not trust him to have a bigger role.
With Bryant returning and playing really well, it is all but guaranteed that Jones is out of the rotation entirely except for garbage time minutes where Ham wants to keep his actual rotation players healthy.
The longer Bryant stays healthy and plays well the more likely it will be that Jones doesn’t even last the full season in Los Angeles. If there is a promising buyout target of any kind then Jones is probably the first that the team would let go to pursue them.